Floating Islands (5)
The interior of the mansion was as large and beautiful as its exterior.
‘You’ve put a lot of money into it.’
My first impression was similar to that of the Antonio Mansion in Novaje City.
“I’ve been to Dongbaek Palace where you were, but it wasn’t like this. It’s fancy here, but why does it look so tacky?”
Theo gave Shelford a quick nod, telling him not to be rude, and listened to Antonio’s explanation.
“Before I introduce my colleagues, I have one request to make.”
Theo nodded quietly.
“what?”
“Please do not use your knife recklessly.”
“… … .”
“They are all rough guys. Some of them are guys that should be finished off once they draw their swords.”
Is this a request to not waste time, or is it a warning that if we continue to act recklessly as we have been doing so far, it will be difficult to save our lives?
‘Both.’
Shelford and Arin felt the same, their eyebrows quirking.
“This is it.”
Squeak!
The place where Antonio opened the door and entered.
Six men and women were smoking cigars and sharing drinks along the large room.
They were all around the same age as Antonio.
but,
‘Each of them is quite skilled.’
Among them, there were some who were as skilled as senior prosecutors.
A woman sitting at the innermost part, quietly watching this side. Her short hair was impressive.
“Antonio.”
“Oh! Our brother. It was hard to come a long way.”
“You said the sea monster’s commotion got worse? Were you able to get here without any problems?”
“Questions, slowly. Before that, I have someone to introduce. This is Land. Land, please come in.”
The moment Theo entered, the six men and women’s eyes changed.
“As I said in the letter.”
“That’s the guy who said he had a balm.”
“You’re much younger than I thought. What can you do with a person like that?”
Most of them had negative first impressions of Theo.
It was a prejudice that couldn’t be helped because on the outside, he looked like the youngest sibling in the family.
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Percussion!
The moment Theo stepped inside, a whirlwind of dragon spirits suddenly appeared.
Gooooo-
[‘Skill: Lesser Drake Fear’ is activated to attempt to gain the initiative.]
“… … !”
“… … !”
“… … !”
The cigars they were holding suddenly went out, and the ceiling shook loudly.
Kukukukuku… … !
A look of bewilderment crossed the faces of the six men and women.
Because just by momentum alone, he was already far ahead of many of them.
“Wh, what is this? Is this what our youngest is like? I knew he beat Beta, but this is still cheating. Now even we can’t win… … ?”
“I know.”
“Arin, what do you do now?”
“What am I?”
“Did you eat goldfish? Don’t you remember threatening Theo on the boat?”
“What kind of threat is that?”
“It’s a threat. It seems like his personality is taking after the captain, so I have to be careful not to be noticed. Hehe.”
“… Can I hit you once?”
Shelford and Arin, who were watching from behind, were so surprised that they even joked around.
At that moment, Theo took out the Dragon Sword from his inventory and stuck it into the floor.
Phew!
A sharp blade that can cleanly penetrate a marble floor.
It was at that moment that the gazes of the six men and women who had been frozen stiff changed.
avarice.
“Balmung… …!”
“The letter was real.”
The reactions varied from person to person.
Curiosity, hostility, neutrality, etc.
What was unusual was that these reactions were further divided according to where they were gathered.
This means that even within this small group, there are divisions.
It meant that unity was lacking as much as expected.
‘The number is roughly three? No, maybe four?’
Theo said, checking the group’s faces inwardly.
“As Antoniou has already said, what I want is the mystery contained in the Colossus of Krimhild. In return, I will seal the Sea King again and return this Balmung to you.”
“How can I trust you when you say you’ll just give it back?”
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“Would there be anyone who would want to turn the entire Buoyant Army and Maritime Federation into enemies?”
The man who had questioned Theo’s bland remark shrugged.
Because in other words, it was true.
When I first entered the room, the woman with short hair who stood out the most asked a question.
“Let’s say we take you to the giant. But what if you don’t get the mystery? What happens then?”
“Then I’ll give up everything and return the ball right away.”
“Ahem. That’s refreshing, you like it?”
“I have a question, too.”
“As much as you want.”
“We thought Balmung was with Troyvan. Or rather, we thought he was with Ragnar. Which of the two are you?”
He was a man with quite a sharp gaze.
It seemed as if he would immediately show murderous intent if anything happened.
‘The most hostile faction. But what does it have to do with the Slow Gang? They seem similar.’
Another thing they had in common was that they were bald skinheads.
“Antonio asked a similar question. But I don’t think it’s my duty to tell you that.”
“Look. This is something we are doing with our political lives at stake. If we are going to work together, shouldn’t we first show trust? How can we work together when we don’t even know if someone is trustworthy or not?”
The other guys objected, but Theo just snorted.
“Trust, I guess it’s a matter of seeing whether I can obtain the mystery or not. If I were Troyvan? Would I not do the work? If I were Ragnar? Would I not do the work?”
All of Black Skull was silent.
“No matter what, you guys need to have a track record of putting the Sea King to sleep again with me in the lead, and even if that doesn’t work out, don’t you think it’s not a bad deal to just get the Balmung back?”
They were all overwhelmed by the spirit that Theo was channeling.
It feels like my mind is being read in detail.
It felt very unfamiliar to them, who had lived their entire lives at the top of the wealthy military autonomous region.
“So don’t even think about wasting time. Just decide. Are you going to go with me or not?”
There was an ominous atmosphere in the air.
widely!
At that moment, Antonio livened up the atmosphere by clapping his hands loudly.
“Come on, let’s calm things down a bit, okay?”
“I can’t stand this unpleasantness. I’m going to get out of this.”
The skinhead man stood up coldly.
“Draw!”
Antonio grabbed him, but the skinhead man had already left the room.
bang!
“Anyway, with that dirty temper.”
“Just leave him alone. He’ll come back when he gets bored again.”
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But the other colleagues passed it over as if they were already used to it.
The man who appeared to be the leader said with a smile.
“Then let’s vote. Landt, only raise your hand if you can help that guy obtain the Colossus’s Mystery.”
There are four people who raised their hands.
“Since more than half of those who raised their hands have done so, we at Black Skull will now assist Rant. Contact our friends guarding the colossus. Tell them to open the way.”
Because of its importance, the Colossus of Krimhild was always guarded by soldiers.
It would have taken a lot of effort to approach them without them knowing.
But it wasn’t impossible since Spinola and Black Skull were cooperating.
like that,
The Black Skull’s movement has begun.
* * *
“This way.”
A dark night with a crescent moon.
Theo and his party sneaked out through the back door of Spinola Mansion, guided by Antoniou and Black Skull.
“The area surrounding the giant will be under guard for the next thirty minutes. Lord Landt, please safely retrieve the mystery and return.”
“Time is so tight?”
During the move, Antonio gave some cautionary advice.
But Theo was absurd.
30 minutes?
It was a mystery that the floating archipelago boasted of.
It was an absurd amount of time, given that 24 hours a day might not be enough to get it done.
“I’m sorry. We tried to buy more time, but we couldn’t take a long time off because we were using the shift change.”
Antonio lowered his head as if he had no face.
But Theo was sure.
The hidden corners of the lips are probably smiling.
‘You’re trying to get your foot in the door by using tricks.’
He promised to return the Balmung if he failed to obtain the mystery, so he was going to give him less time in the first place.
Did Theo think that it would be more beneficial for them to move with Balmung than to gain the mysteries and reseal the Sea King?
Of course, Theo had no intention of simply falling for their tricks.
“Here it is.”
widely!
Then, before he knew it, Theo was able to arrive in front of the Krimhild Colossus.
Much larger than what was seen from the ship.
It seemed like it was well over a few dozen meters.
Paaaa-
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A blue light could be seen gently spreading from the sword held by the giant statue of Krimhild.
The vibration of the Dragon Sword, wrapped in cloth and hung on his back, also became increasingly severe.
“We will guard this place. We wish you success.”
“Selford and Arin, please guard this place. Black Skull may try to interfere.”
“Don’t worry. This place will be protected by these strong seniors.”
“Take care on your way.”
Theo easily jumped over the barbed wire surrounding the colossus.
Jeeeeing!
Now the Yongsal Sword was shaking so violently that it seemed as if it would break.
[‘Yongsalgeom: Balmung’ wants to return to its original location. Find its location, find the mystery within, and acquire the right to be its master.]
Finding the ‘location’ the message spoke of wasn’t that difficult.
All I had to do was find the place where the vibration of the Dragon Sword became more intense.
That’s where we arrived.
It was in front of the giant sword embedded in the nape of the dragon’s neck.
‘The shape is different from the balmung.’
The Yongsal Sword has the shape of an ordinary longsword, but it has a splendid appearance, such as having the black jewel of Krimhild embedded in it.
Is it a change brought about by time, or an exaggeration added by legend?
It was at that moment that I untied the cloth and revealed the Dragon Sword while thinking about that.
“Die, Ragnar!”
Suddenly something fell quickly from the sky.
A hammer of enormous size.
Theo quickly pulled out Drake’s blade and deflected it away.
bang!
The hammer’s owner landed with a slight flip in the air.
Tight skinhead.
A muscular giant measuring two meters tall.
“Draw.”
at that time,
Tsk tsk tsk-
The space shook from all directions, revealing a dozen or so people.
Those who hold various weapons in their hands.
But the black skull mark engraved on his chest was impressive.
“gray.”
Theo let out a laugh as he saw a familiar face among the fire wizards.
This was a calculation error.
I thought that even if he were to strike back, he would at least strike after he had obtained the mystery.
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Why did you set up a trap like this, even with a time limit of 30 minutes?
‘If not that.’
Theo narrowed his eyes.
“Lord Land, if you just hand over your feet, I will spare your life.”
“I don’t know why you’re doing this. Was it really necessary? Wouldn’t it be better if I got the mystery and then did something?”
“If you gain mystery and become too strong, it will be harder to catch up. It’s better to deal with it now.”
“No, it’s not like this is because you have to handle things without telling Antonio or the other executives?”
Gray clicked his tongue lightly.
“That’s why smart guys… … . Then there’s no need to hide it. Yes. That’s right.”
also.
This was a solo crime by Gray and Draw, not the Black Skull’s own.
It seems that my feeling that there was a lack of unity was not a wrong feeling.
There was no separate soybean powder.
But it worked out well for Theo.
The more divided public opinion is, the easier it is to cook up a Black Skull.
“We have long sworn that we will never live under the same sky as Ragnar. So your offer is unacceptable.”
“I never said I was Ragnar.”
“Do you think I won’t notice even if you keep telling me how long?”
It seemed that the guys were somehow certain that he was Ragnar.
In the end, Theo couldn’t hide the truth.
I glanced at the draw that was still flying high with life.
“So that guy over there was a brother of the Slow Gang?”
“Well, I guess so. And one more thing.”
Hurrruk!
The hem of Gray’s robe shook and flames shot up.
“I am also a ‘gang’. Gray Gang. In place of my brother, Slow, who died unjustly… … I will kill you from now on. Ragnar.”
Theo decided that he had to find another way to overcome this trap.
It was already clear that Shelford and Arin had fallen into the trap outside.
‘then.’
Theo poured all his magical power into the Dragon Sword he was holding in his left hand.
Oh my gosh-
Thump thump thump thump… … !
A gust of wind began to blow in all directions, accompanied by a rough sword sound.
“What a waste of effort. Get the ball back!”
It was the moment when Gray poured out his magic and Drow and his men rushed at him all at once.
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“Well, shouldn’t we see who’s going crazy?”
Theo swung the Dragon Sword, steaming away, towards Krimhild’s colossus with a cold laugh.
The aura-laden aura tore the giant apart as it swirled around.
“What are you doing…? Oh, oh, no, no!”
The moment Gray and Drow’s complexions turned pale, Krimhild’s colossus exploded.
Phew!
How the bastard of the Return Sword Family lives
