Chapter 110

1.

This was truly a bizarre situation.

Even though the decision to step into this place and the decision to fight them were all my choices, I couldn’t help but suspect that everything was unfolding according to their plan.

Why am I feeling this way?

It was simple.

Because the enemies’ attacks were relentless.

They had even stolen the moments I needed to rationally control my suspicions.

“Hmph.”

I exhaled lightly and glanced down.

What used to be a pristine white school uniform had been soiled by blood and dirt long ago, and the cardigan I wore as an outer layer had long lost its form, torn and riddled with holes.

These were the results of countless scratches accumulated from blocking bullets, bombs, steel bludgeons, and blades.

Of course, the missile bombardment had caused the most damage, but it was merely painful, not exhausting.

What truly wore me out was the endless enemy forces.

“Damn it.”

A sudden chill ran through my entire body, making me curse involuntarily. Was it because too much blood was leaving my body, or was it because my clothes were failing to function, causing an odd chill?

Certainly, thanks to my enhanced regeneration ability, minor wounds healed quickly, but new ones repeatedly appeared, making it meaningless.

A sigh escaped me. I had only come here to assist the Game Development Department, so how did I end up in such a situation?

Tatatatang─!

My lamentation was cut short as the sound of gunfire reached my ears.

Twisting my waist at the sound emanating from behind, I immediately set up my shield in that direction.

What I saw was the shield partially caved in, seemingly hit by a specially modified bullet, but it had definitely deflected the shot.

I then powered my back foot and surged forward, shifting my center of gravity for a burst of speed.

-Kwaang!

Trampling an automaton at the center as a stepping stone, I swung my shield at the surrounding enemies aiming their guns at me, shattering them.

Sparks flew with a Kazuzuk!

A sudden sixth sense warned me of impending danger.

“Damn!”

Not this again, I thought.

Twisting my body out of the way and pressing my feet into the ground behind me, I immediately raised my shield, covering myself behind it as much as possible. Moments later, a burst of light erupted from the destroyed robot.

Peeereeeeng─!!

The automaton was designed to explode upon destruction.

Thrown back by the explosive impact, I involuntarily rolled along the floor, littered with robot debris, fragments, and dust.

Had I my Web Shooter, I could’ve easily evaded, but alas, I had left it behind.

Cursing inwardly, I struggled to get back up.

I had no choice but to swing my shield again as an automaton armed with a grinder approached, aiming for my head.

“Die!”

I dodged the grinder with a twist of my head, the grinding sound loudly piercing my ears.

In an instant, I swung my shield, shattering its arm, grabbed its grinder, and slammed it back into its head.

In the next moment, I roundhouse kicked its busted heart-shaped head into the formation of automata nearby.

The sound of a warm reunion, Kwang!, echoed.

I immediately launched myself into the “reunion,” imbuing my shield with force and hurling it with all my might.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The shield defied the laws of physics, destroying over a dozen robots before soaring high into the sky.

I leaped into the air to retrieve it, while keeping my gaze on the seemingly endless horde and something visible at its edge.

A massive automaton, called the ‘Power Loader.’

It was a strange object emitting a peculiar blue glow.

My sixth sense was especially wary of it.

Perhaps it’s a terror weapon? Though, I wasn’t sure.

Floating mid-air, my foot rested on the shield as I stared at the Power Loader.

Aware that I was watching, the Power Loader’s lens gradually tilted upwards, where I hovered.

Or more accurately, it was locking onto me.

‘Why do I keep having pointless thoughts?’

Hmm. Was I losing my mind due to blood loss?

I wasn’t sure.

With a hollow laugh, I imbued my foot with force and kicked the shield hard like a soccer ball.

Instead of drawing a parabola, the shield moved in a straight line.

In an instant, the shield, like a bullet, surged towards the Power Loader as I had desired and then…

Cceeeerrrr─!!

The spectacle created by my kicked shield was magnificent.

It carved a large hole in the Power Loader’s chest.

Flames erupted from all sides, making it look hot, but it turned out to be a good job.

With a satisfied smile, I landed on the ground. However, the merciless automatons showed no signs of mourning the death of their comrade—the Power Loader—and continued to charge at me.

I swung my shield, the righteous iron hammer, at these sentient beings lacking empathy, feeling a great sense of disillusionment.

Bang! Bang! Crang! Crwaaaaang!!

“Ah. I shouldn’t have thrown my shield. Damn it.”

Unfortunately, because I had sent it too far, I now had to fight these damn bots with my bare hands, a truly lamentable situation.

With every punch, I felt the increasing odds of victory.

Approaching enemies saw their skulls shattered one by one by my hands as I inwardly wept in sorrow.

Bang! A punch sent an inhuman robot’s head tilting and breaking.

A robot approaching from the left swung its blade fiercely, but I deflected it with my shoulder and shattered its neck with a kick.

I plunged my hand into the throat of another robot trying to self-destruct and flung it far away.

To those trying to snipe me from afar, I swiftly moved around, delivering the righteous iron fist to their heads.

Every time I moved, I intuitively sensed my chances of victory increasing.

Fighting in one place against an endless horde was a poor strategy, so I used various means to create escape routes, making them follow me.

Dodge, crush, stop, crush, penetrate, destroy.

Through heightened combat senses and extensive fighting experience, I sought ways to win this never-ending battle.

Tired from missile bombardments and accumulated shocks, I gradually grew weary with time, but simultaneously, my endurance was strengthened.

Though exhausting, fighting numerous enemies honed my senses and experience, making each encounter a source of learning.

It was difficult not being able to read attack trajectories through enemy eyes, unlike in human battles, but the straightforward nature of their attacks made it somehow easier.

More specifically, it was easier to identify patterns, though some enemies occasionally mixed feints with real attacks due to a well-designed combat system, which remained futile against my sixth sense.

Suddenly, I felt a sense of meaninglessness.

What was the point? There was none, in this situation.

“What meaning is there in this process?”

There was no answer. The automatons merely aimed their guns at me.

I didn’t expect answers from them anyway. After all, they were nothing more than soulless hunks of metal programmed to follow commands, far removed from the pseudo-humans walking around downtown Kiburatos.

What I was hoping for was…

“What meaning is there in this act?”

The reasoning behind them wasting manpower in such battles.

Why they targeted me. Why they spoke to me. Why they launched a missile attack. Why they didn’t stop the teacher.

I was curious about all these reasons.

While my muddled consciousness whispered through my heightened senses, a monstrous entity craving all information swallowed its saliva.

Still, there was no reply.

“Ignoring me, huh?”

It was the expected reaction. Instead, I might’ve been more puzzled if they had answered. No, more accurately, suspicious.

Were they the kind to answer willingly?

Despite that, I somehow felt a pang of disappointment and lingered with a forlorn expression.

Sighing, I saw my breath form a white cloud in the cold air, heated from the battle.

Trembling all over, it seemed I was approaching my limit. If I fell here, I’d be in deep trouble.

I was lost in these thoughts when suddenly my sixth sense signaled.

It had sensed someone nearby, and it was just who I was waiting for.

“Timing, seriously… kill it.”

I grumbled weakly and chuckled hollowly. I was simply too happy the long fight was finally over.

They’d probably be surprised when I returned like this.

But what could I do? I didn’t bring a change of clothes. I should’ve packed some extras if I’d known.

“It’s time to wrap this up. See you next time.”

Pip! Piip Piip!

It seemed the automatons were deeply saddened by my departure, wailing mournfully.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sad too. I’ll come back and finish you all off next time, don’t worry.”

Piip Piip Piip!

“Adorable brats.”

Ppaak-!

Determined to answer maybe, I bisected the automaton enthusiastically beeping and hastily retrieved my shield before leaving the scene. Just in case, I called out.

“Any last words?”

At that moment, a voice responded as if waiting.

‘…Soon.’

“Soon?”

‘A blazing inferno rising from the apocalypse of the heavens will take everything from you.’

“…”

‘For the end times have come, and soon the judgment shall arrive. Thus, you must inevitably accept your mission.’

To which I responded with a smirk,

“Screw that.”

What strange nonsense were they spouting?

2.

“Kyaahhh! Hiiro! You, you, are you okay?!!”

“Blood! Blood… what…!!”

“Hiiro! What happened…? Let me carry you! Let’s get out of here quickly! We need to treat you!”

“Hmm. It’s not that ba…!”

“Shut up and follow teacher’s orders! Do you want to get in trouble?!”

“A. Yes sir.”

…

…

“Kyaahhh! Hiiro! There’s so much blood…!!”

“What could have happened to make it this bad?”

“Hospital! Let’s go to the hospital first! Hiiro can’t die!”

“We need to stop the bleeding from the wounds! So hurry up and take off your clothes! No, let me do it!”

“H-Himari-senpai? Just a moment. This is sort of…!”

“Shut up and take them off!”

“…? Why are there so few wounds?”

“Huh? What’s going on? So much blood, but why so little wounds?”

“…Well, I have a pretty good regeneration ability.”

“?!”

“Is this some kind of superpower? Healing at this speed? That makes no sense.”

“It does.”

“…”

“…”

“A. The big wounds take a bit longer to heal though. Hehe.”

“…”

“…”

3.

The first journey into the ruins has come to an end.

While we gained various insights, there were also things we didn’t acquire.

For instance, the calmness of my back.

After my secret of relying solely on my regenerative powers for hero actions was revealed, I took a lot of blows to the back from many people.

This lessened my mental burden in many ways, but it seemed they were also sorrowful, predicting that I would continue to jump into even more dangerous situations because of this ability.

But what could be done?

I have no intention of stopping this work.

Understanding this fact, my peers must have accepted it as well and moved on to hitting my back. I absently chuckled while rubbing my bandaged arm, but the feeling of numbness remained.

‘…I have to return to those ruins.’

Thinking about my experience in the ruins this time made goosebumps rise automatically. I don’t want to get hit by missiles again.

“Hmm.”

Stopping my lament, I continued thinking.

And yet another thing that we failed to obtain in this journey.

G.Bible. The true purpose of this expedition.

The artifact detailing the method for creating the ultimate game.

The Game Development Department managed to gain a new member—a girl named Tendo Aris—through this ruin expedition but failed to obtain the crucial G.Bible.

Because of that, we did manage to receive a postponement period from Yuka, but we couldn’t fully cancel the impending declaration.

The situation where they need to develop a game and deliver results didn’t change.

While the twins were deeply saddened at this, they didn’t stay down for long, thanks to the presence of young Aris.

Shortly after, the twins shifted their focus to educating Aris, instilling her with common knowledge while taking a break that wasn’t really a break.

This marked the beginning of Aris’s education as seen in the original story.

Most likely, the original version of Aris would have appeared while I was in the hospital bed, and I decided to relax with a certain level of expectation.

Of course, I will transform back into Silk by evening, but for now, it was a legitimate moment of rest until the afternoon.

“My head aches, truly.”

Recently, a feeling of being rushed on multiple fronts has grown stronger.

Ever since I started reflecting on my own identity last time—or more accurately, after my battle with Binah—it felt like I’ve been moving around as if chased by someone.

Immediately after returning from Millennium, an incident erupted, I consumed the red pill with precognition, was pushed by Rio, fought Toki, underwent an identity crisis, and even visited Tritinia.

“Hmph.”

I really have been extremely active.

It’s busy. Incredibly, absurdly busy.

With the ruin expedition layered on top, there’s no room for mental respite. In simpler terms, stress has built up.

‘When I decided to become a hero, I had an inkling I’d lead a life like this…’

Still, reality was far different from my speculations.

Just moments ago, while continuing the fight, I was on the verge of a stress breakdown.

The relentless thoughts and the excruciating pain I felt with every movement of my body were experiences not easily endured. Truly.

Every time I try to strengthen myself to avoid experiencing such pain, I feel my spirit growing faint.

I felt the need to find a way to gather some peace.

To sustain this life for the long haul, wouldn’t it be best to prevent the gradual wear on my mind beforehand?

Of course, this is just my train of thought. Right now, I’m also speculating about the vague implications of the words I heard in the ruins, pondering how to incorporate my knowledge of the original work and current information for future directions.

To summarize the knowledge to prevent Rio from discovering my identity, I must always be vigilant.

And every evening, venturing into the city to fight off villains only adds to the growing list of physical scars.

“Phew…”

With a sigh mixed with lamentation, I closed my eyes and considered.

‘Follow the path you’ve chosen, survive it through sheer toughness.’

I’ve done this before, and I continue to do it now.

My resolve hasn’t changed.

I’ll go to the end of the path I committed to from the start.

No matter how hard it gets.

‘The pain that doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. So, I’ll stand in the heavens, sole master of the heavens and earth. The strongest modern-day Hero, Silk. That’s me.’

I continued to reaffirm my resolve in this seemingly futile train of thought.

It was amusing somehow, and it made me feel good, as if reciting this nonsense was my own way of restoring mental strength.

Satisfied with my musings, I turned my head.

As the crimson sunset of dusk swept past the window, bringing a slightly warm breeze, the month of March was drawing to a close, and April was approaching.

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