[710] Nineteen Thousand Worlds (4)
* * *
Maze Jessica.
In the beautiful kingdom of Molten, bordering the Mediterranean to the north, lay one of the world's three great labyrinths—the Giant Ruins.
Since the great hunter Jessica first discovered it, the Giant Ruins had become an idealized destination for countless hunters.
Whether people knew of heaven or not, it was accepted that many ancient weapons were buried here.
When Jin Seongeum arrived at Jessica, countless tents ringed the vast pyramid.
Merchants had set up stalls to sell conveniences, and farther off stood the Ruins Restoration Department building of the Molten Kingdom.
"Jessica is another unconquered maze. But unlike the other two great labyrinths, this one's profitable," said Mun-gyeong, captain of the Sambo.
At his words, Seongeum drew a composed breath and regarded Jessica's pyramid.
Her large, cat-like eyes were slitted at the corners and fierce; her lips, pressed together, were the color of raspberries.
Like many Eastern women, her frame was small but her neck long, giving graceful proportions, and her fists were almost always clenched.
'The Iron Woman.'
Mun-gyeong admired Jin Seongeum.
'I dare not think I could possess you.'
The distance Seongeum allowed him was three steps.
As captain of the princess's personal guard, his wish was simple: before he died, to take at least one more step closer to her.
'I began from ten steps.'
That was the minimum distance at which he could protect her by force.
'Nine steps, eight steps, seven…'
Seongeum at six steps was different; Seongeum at zero steps was different.
Each time he closed the distance by one step, his admiration grew, and only when he reached three steps did he think he could understand her.
'I will protect you.'
Mun-gyeong could not imagine how Seongeum would look once he reached that line—one no man had been permitted to cross.
"Let's go in. It's time for the Ivory Tower's test."
When Seongeum turned, two hundred members of the personal guard, including the twenty from the Sambo, bowed on one knee in unison.
"You will stay here. One is enough," Seongeum said.
Mun-gyeong shook his head.
"That will not do. I would never doubt Your Highness's skill, but Jessica is crawling with shameless hunters. Don't get dragged into troublesome schemes that would upset your mind."
Anger flared in Seongeum's eyes.
"Mun-gyeong, I am not a flower to be sheltered. I must overcome vile plots and men's tricks myself. Otherwise, how could I be a candidate for the Ivory Tower?"
Mun-gyeong knew no hunter, however strong, could match Seongeum.
According to analysis from the Jincheon Space Agency, when the three candidates fought individually, consensus held that no one could defeat Seongeum.
'Those who command space have no weakness. But…'
He simply hated it.
The thought of some low ruffian daring to look Jin Seongeum in the eye was unbearably humiliating.
"If you insist, at least let the Sambo remain by your side. This is a competition, after all. Leave the petty matters to us."
Seongeum rarely yielded to anyone, but she could not be harsh with the three steps she herself had acknowledged.
"Very well. Then only the Sambo members shall follow me."
Mun-gyeong, moved to tears, beat his head on the ground until it bled.
"I will serve you with my life!"
Seongeum glanced down at him without much expression, yet for a moment her gaze felt like a spring breeze.
"Let's go. I hope Ra Enemi will be here."
"Surely it will. After all, isn't Your Highness chosen by the heavens?" Mun-gyeong replied.
"Heh—spare me the courtly flattery," Seongeum said lightly.
The princess of the Jincheon Empire strode toward the pyramid.
* * *
Maze Andre—World No. 1.
When Shirone first arrived, he was greeted by the thunderous roar of a volcanic eruption that shook heaven and earth.
"Where is this…?"
He had unlocked the door marked 1 on the panel with the Ultima System and stepped through.
The air felt far denser here than in the other worlds.
A rainforest, like those seen only in the tropics, rose to immense heights and scale, and burning rocks streaked through the sky.
Kyaaaaa!
At a horrible cry from above, Shirone tilted his head and watched a monstrous creature over forty meters long streak rapidly away.
"Dragon?"
Doubting his eyes, Shirone wore a stunned expression. Then the underbrush rustled and a dragon's blue-scaled face suddenly poked out.
"Krrrrr…."
The reptile's eyes were machine-like and emotionless; a chill crawled down Shirone's spine.
The Ultima System translated its words.
"You're a strange human."
From that first sentence, Shirone could be sure: at least humans lived in this world.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The dragon seemed to find the question difficult and thought for a long while before speaking.
"Why are you not afraid?"
To this dragon's knowledge, humans were so weak they feared animals smaller than themselves.
"Where is this place?" Shirone asked.
Of course he was tense before a dragon, but he was a man from a world ruled by reason.
"Now I see. You're from another world. That's why you don't know how strong I am."
Shirone's face brightened.
"Yes! That's right! I just want to know what kind of place this is…."
"Die, insignificant human."
The dragon opened its jaws and a breath of flame turned the forest to ash in an instant.
"You pathetic species…."
As the dragon turned away, smacking its lips, its eyes caught something and it glanced to the side.
Shirone dodged by instantaneous movement and frowned.
"How…?"
Could a human cause phenomena only dragons could?
'No, that's not it.'
What remained as an afterimage on the dragon's retina was the sight of a human body turning to light and moving at tremendous speed.
"You attacked out of nowhere! What are you doing?"
The breath's power was no different from modern dragons', so Shirone's voice rose.
"That cannot be."
Unable to accept the fact, the dragon opened its huge maw again and unleashed another breath.
"What is this…!"
Unable to hold back any longer, Shirone answered with a Photon Cannon, and a fierce exchange raged for several minutes.
"Kraaaaang!"
Struck on the flank by the homing Photon Cannon, the dragon crashed through trees and was driven back.
Creatures of the forest, hearing the dragon's howl, made the undergrowth tremble as if metal were being scraped with nails.
"That cannot be!"
Though it had interacted with many dragons, this one had never heard of a dragon being pushed back by a human.
It was an entirely new concept, beyond imagination.
"That can't be!"
For the first time in its life, the dragon felt anger; as it twisted its body toward Shirone, a spear of light—an angel's punishment—descended.
KWAaaaang!
"...!"
When the spear of light pierced it, the dragon's jaws dropped open in shock; the impact was so severe no sound escaped.
'You're going to die! Die! Die!'
Fear of death made Shirone's pupils quake and his muscles go numb, but with desperate will he moved his legs.
"Kraaang! Kraaang!"
Instead of pursuing the dragon fleeing into the forest, Shirone wore a grave expression and thought.
'Can they not fly?'
Some dragons in reality had reduced wings but still flew using dragon magic.
"The age of dragons."
From what Shirone had learned, this world was a primitive planet once ruled by dragons.
"How far into the past have I come?"
Before despair could settle, Shirone shook his head and rose into the air.
Since Rian and Kido were straining to hold things, he had to find a way to break the seal as quickly as possible.
'They knew about humans.'
Searching for a human settlement, Shirone felt a massive, radiant wing of fire flare on his shoulder.
'Find water.'
The wings of light curled round him like a cloak, then with a pop expelled air and shot Shirone forward like an arrow.
* * *
Maze Andre—World No. 283.
"This never ends."
The enormous green barrier blocking his path did not look like an oversized plant.
They were just ordinary weeds rooted in the ground—and because of that, Shirone had shrunk.
Bwoooom!
As the air vibrated with a sound louder than thunder, Shirone flattened himself to the ground.
A huge hornet, at least five times his size, brushed his back and flew off while he gaped.
'What on earth is this…?'
He slashed blades of grass only centimeters high with Wind Cutter, and the familiar yet utterly altered vista of the forest floor stretched to the horizon.
"Prison of space-time."
It hadn't merely shifted time and space; it had focused and magnified a particular spacetime.
"What am I supposed to do here?"
He cast Fly and settled on the tip of a blade of grass, but even a gentle breeze made his body sway.
"...! ...!"
Through the Spirit Zone he sensed countless objects moving and immediately activated the Ultima System.
"Hostiles detected! Hostiles detected!"
"Reporting coordinates! There! There!"
A flood of signals crashed in like a roar and Shirone peered down, startled.
"What is that?"
What seemed easily tens of thousands of ants were marching in perfect formation around the blades of grass.
"Report from the allied bees! An unknown insect has invaded our territory! Block it at once!"
'…I get the gist.'
It was a lower-level system in the caste order running from the cosmos to the natural world and down to the biological.
"Come down! You are surrounded!"
Ants had climbed the grass from all directions to seize the high ground and raised their rears.
"Let's fire at their anthill!"
"Shoot! Shoot!"
Hundreds of acidic droplets fired like cannonballs and Shirone shot upward in annoyance.
"This is insane!"
Watching the ants persistently bombard him, Shirone loaded a Photon Cannon into his palm.
'It's endless anyway.'
No matter how small the creatures, killing tens of thousands would feel horribly grim.
"Wait! Let's talk this out!"
"Shoot! Shoot!"
The Ultima System translated the ants' language, but the ants could not detect Shirone's voice.
"Call the allied bees! Use stings to kill it!"
'This is getting serious.'
If World 283 was the lowest biological-level system, the chance of meeting humans here was nearly nil.
'I have to find a way to break the seal here by any means.'
Shirone landed and raised his hand.
"Bring me a representative. I mean… yes! The queen! I want to meet your queen."
The bombardment against him stopped.
"Is that working?"
For a moment he mistook their antennae-touching for agreement.
"Step aside! I shall punish this intruder myself!"
Where the mass of ants swarmed, a path opened like a parted sea and a giant soldier ant with razor-sharp mandibles emerged.
"Behold! The Garnet Colony's greatest warrior, the Thirteenth Night!"
So many ants sprayed pheromones carrying the number thirteen in every direction that Shirone felt dizzy.
'The greatest warrior?'
Shirone studied the Thirteenth Night—forelegs raised, jaws clacking—and nodded.
'I see….'
From the aura radiating off that massive body, he was undeniably a true master ant who had perfected incarnation technique.