Chapter 62: Traveling Abroad [2]

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“His name is Timothy. He’s nothing more than a commoner who works with his farmer family in the fields of City District A,” Louis explained. “However, he possesses great untapped talent and is also a Sinner, despite his ordinary appearance. Like Mirai, he is not a hybrid child but a human born with special abilities tied to an Entity or Grievance that has made him a Sinner. His power remains mostly dormant, but he has tremendous potential I must cultivate. His abilities will prove indispensable for my future projects, and he will be an excellent student at the Sinners Academy, possessing a rare Medic Archetype.”

“Archetype?” Mirai tilted her head. “What is that?”

“It is a special ’Class’ assigned to every student based on their skills, magical affinity, qualities, and more,” Louis explained. “Usually divided into eight Archetypes: Caster, Defender, Guard, Medic, Sniper, Specialist, Supporter, Vanguard. Based on these classes, each student receives a custom-made suit, weapons, and accessories tailored to their fighting style.”

“I had no idea,” Anastasia said, amazed.

“What Class will I be?” Mirai wondered.

“Mirai would likely be a Specialist, while Anastasia… most likely Vanguard,” Louis replied. “Zorba is definitely either a Supporter or a Caster, but Necromancers are very versatile, he could even qualify as a Defender depending on how many Undead he has prepared.”

“Hmph,” Zorba nodded, crossing his arms with pride. “Well, what can I say? I am indeed quite talented.”

“What about me?!” Melisa asked eagerly.

“You have begun learning healing spells, correct?” Louis asked. “Medic or Supporter… Selene, however, would likely be a Vanguard, almost definitely Berserk Vanguard. If you train well, the two of you will work together excellently. Selene with her full power will fight and defend, while you heal her, buff her, deal even more damage, and keep her alive.”

“Oh, we can be a dream team!” Melisa exclaimed.

“Dream team!” Selene nodded happily.

In the Sinners Academy game, Class Synergy had been key when deploying units on a map. Certain classes complemented others, creating powerful synergies and even enabling potent synthesis moves, where two characters combined their skills for devastating combined attacks or special effects. Louis wasn’t certain how all of this would translate into reality, but he looked forward to finding out.

An hour passed in flight as everyone chatted to pass the time. Out of curiosity, they moved to the windows, gazing at the vast wastelands that separated the City Districts. Ruins of old, forgotten cities stretched across the landscape, interspersed with deserts and bizarre alien biomes.

Some resembled forests of bone or salt crystals. Others were lakes filled with strange living synthetic entities that absorbed garbage and scrap to construct towering spires from which they surveyed their territories. None were true Fantasy Fields, mostly formed by large groups of Entities that had escaped Dimensional Rifts and adapted like wild animals.

Yet they were not wild animals.

“CRYEEEEEEEH!”

Out of nowhere, as they stared at a giant spire of rust-covered scrap, a loud, ear-piercing metallic cry rang out. The spire began to move, revealing countless crimson eyes made of shattered TVs and dozens of metallic, rusty arms and legs stretching skyward, reaching for Celestina.

“W-What the hell is that thing?!” Mirai screamed.

“That is an Entity Colony,” Louis explained calmly. “Have you not seen all the things my father has contained underground in the VPI? You shouldn’t be surprised.”

“But it’s huge…!” Mirai protested. “And… isn’t it coming right toward us?!”

The gigantic mechanical spire nearly caught Celestina, only for her to reveal a pair of golden cannons and fire twin beams of blinding light.

BOOOM!

BOOOM!

Two explosions were all it took. The entire scrap spire detonated into countless fragments. The Entities forming the colony burned and melted, leaving behind a puddle of molten metal and shattered Fantasium crystals.

“W-Woah…” Anastasia breathed in awe. “Celestina’s incredible!”

“That huge thing is gone…?” Mirai said, stunned. “Amazing…”

Celestina sped onward past the wreckage. Another hour passed as everyone marveled at the strange alien biomes and unfamiliar landscapes unfolding below.

Among the sights that astonished them were mountain-sized crystals of rainbow-colored Fantasium sprouting from the ground, as though trying to pierce the sky. Sunlight refracted through them in dazzling colors, yet those same crystals were deadly, holding immense concentrations of Fantasium capable of instantly killing even low-level Espers who drew too near.

The journey remained mostly uneventful afterward, until they were only thirty minutes from District A. While passing above a strange biome of purple, blue, and green slimy tentacles sprouting from the earth, yet another bizarre Entity emerged.

RUMBLE!

The ground trembled and split open. The “forest of tentacles” revealed itself as a gigantic underground organism resembling a translucent octopus. Over a hundred meters long, the creature leaped skyward with jaws gaping wide, exposing countless sharp teeth.

It seemed to have mistaken Celestina for prey, perhaps a flying creature it hunted whenever one passed overhead or attempted to feed on its tentacles.

“Waaahhh!” Anastasia, Mirai, Selene, and Melisa all screamed as the giant creature lunged to swallow them. Louis and Zorba were shaken but remained silent.

“As I thought—there are a lot of pests out there…”

Celestina’s voice echoed as the Celestial Vessel climbed higher, evading the snapping jaws. A moment later, she manifested a giant sword of light. Her spiritual form appeared above the skies.

“Begone.”

The sword of light plunged downward, piercing the colossal monster and causing it to explode into countless pieces…

Louis, Zorba, and everyone else stared in astonishment at the overwhelming power Celestina had just displayed.

“S-So that’s the power of a Divine Artifact Spirit! Incredible…” Zorba gasped.

“Celestina…” Louis murmured. “I will make sure to remember you…”

Everyone cheered for Celestina and praised her strength, leaving her faintly embarrassed as they continued toward City District A.

Once they drew near the Ice Walls surrounding the District, a large magical barrier appeared, attempting to block their passage.

“It seems there is a magic barrier here, created by my master,” Celestina said. “Do we have to stop and gain permission to enter?”

“I don’t believe so. Press on—if that barrier was made by my mother, it cannot stop you,” Louis replied.

“Very well, Your Majesty,” Celestina answered. She pierced the barrier effortlessly, surprised. “It worked! It seems my master left the barrier capable of detecting her artifacts or her family, perhaps? Whatever the case, we won’t need to check in at the entrance.”

“Yeah, move directly to House Red Leaf’s coordinates,” Louis instructed.

“Yes!”

Five minutes later, Celestina reached her destination. An incredibly vast farmland greeted their eyes, more than half of it blackened and decaying, with puddles of miasma bubbling beneath the surface. A strange barrier surrounded the corrupted crops, which moved unnaturally, not fully dead, but transformed into something else.

“Slowly descend, they’ve prepared a wide area for you to rest,” Louis said.

“Understood!”

Celestina descended gently. From the windows, Louis saw Agustina and her mother step out of their large mansion, waving enthusiastically in welcome.

Once the vessel landed, the door opened and a golden staircase appeared. Louis was the first to step out. The red-haired half-elf, half-dwarf young noble lady’s eyes sparkled with happiness and joy.

“Lord Louis! It is such an honor to meet you once more! I am so happy!” she exclaimed.

“Lady Agustina, the honor is mine,” Louis replied, descending the stairs and greeting her by kissing her fair hand. “This must be your mother, yes?”

Louis turned to the beautiful dwarven woman beside Agustina, her mother. She had long red hair like her daughter and stood slightly shorter. Despite her dwarven heritage, she had a slender figure, though Louis noticed the strength in her arms, clear signs of powerful muscles.

“Indeed. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me and my daughter. The medicine you sent was like a godsent miracle,” Lady Red Leaf said. “I never thought I could be healed from such a grave case of Fantasium Poisoning…”

“Ah, as I said before, the honor is mine, Lady Red Leaf,” Louis replied. “I have brought my Celestial Vessel, I hope it won’t disturb you.”

“Oh! Of course not,” Lady Red Leaf assured him. “I see you’ve brought many friends, Lord Louis… Though I expected soldiers… or knights?”

“That won’t be necessary. The news of the tragedy in the capital must have reached here by now, correct?” Louis asked. “We’re still recovering from all the souls we’ve lost. I couldn’t spare soldiers for this cause, but fear not, we are more than enough.”

“I see! I apologize for my behavior. I will choose to trust the Prince,” Lady Red Leaf said.

“Please, come inside, all of you!” Agustina urged warmly. “You’re all welcome in our home. We’ve already arranged several guest rooms so everyone can live comfortably here until the issue is resolved.”

“Thank you for your wonderful hospitality,” Louis replied. “Let’s go.”

As everyone entered the mansion, Louis glanced into the distance, studying the corrupted farmlands and what they were slowly becoming.

“It’s worse than I imagined… If this continues too long, it could become a Fantasy Field.”

♢♢♢♢

The arrival of Prince Louis from the Capital had not gone unnoticed. After his Celestial Vessel bypassed registration at the gate and pierced the magic barrier as though it were nothing, many officials in charge of District affairs were furious at his audacity.

“We planned to do everything we could to stop him from entering, but the bastard just passed through the barrier?!”

“Who does he think he is? He doesn’t own these lands—they’re ours!”

“Just why is he here?!”

“If he finds out what we’ve been doing…!”

“That’s enough, everyone. I am well aware of the danger the Mad Prince’s arrival poses to our plans. But fear not—I have devised a counter-plan in case this happened. As long as you follow my instructions precisely, we will not only eliminate that crippled sinner, but we might even gain what we’ve been seeking all this time.”

“Oooh! If you say so, Alliance Lord!”

“I shall follow you no matter what!”

“It’s time for us to finally take what is ours.”

“The Queen is a lost cause. We must keep moving forward and stop mourning that vegetable woman.”

“A new King must be decided, and you are the most fitting!”

“Thank you, everyone. Your words mean everything to me. I will make sure to rebuild this Kingdom into the utopia we all dream of.”

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