Chapter 112

Onseu Om was a ruffian of Merion, famous for his nickname ‘Brass Arm.’

The reason for the nickname was quite simple: his right arm was actually made of brass.

He was once a Master of the great nation of Maesh.

It meant his swordsmanship was worthy of representing a nation.

His trust and skill were so great that he was entrusted with escorting a goodwill ambassador to the Cordis Empire.

His future was more than just bright. Wherever connoisseurs gathered, his name was always mentioned.

That was, until he lost his right arm.

Onseu Om returned from the Cordis Empire as a one-armed man.

The exact reason was not known.

However, those who knew Onseu Om's usual conduct would say that he must have done something deserving of having his arm cut off.

According to one story, the entire delegation of dozens of people unanimously said that Onseu Om had lost his arm due to his own mistake.

Whatever the reason, the young Master became a one-armed man.

His home country of Maesh, instead of sending a protest to the Cordis Empire, stripped Onseu Om of all his honors and exiled him.

Thus, the world forgot Maesh's Master, Onseu Om, for a time.

The forgotten one-armed swordsman one day suddenly reappeared in the world.

With the status of a retainer of the Del Conti family and with a brass arm into which three 16-unit mana reactors had been shoved.

He still grinds his teeth towards Maesh.

No matter how good the liquor, if it was a Maesh product, he wouldn't even smell it and if he heard a Maesh accent on the street, he couldn't resist throwing a punch.

And yet, his lingering attachment remained, and he couldn't bring himself to take off his navy frock coat and tricorne hat.

It was the attire of a Maesh officer.

He would sometimes burst into a fit of rage while looking at the empty spot where the medal symbolizing the Master of Maesh once hung.

He had a brass arm instead of one of flesh and blood.

His swordsmanship could not be what it once was.

But he had vast mana.

In addition, his ferocity had increased, and he was gaining infamy on the Bururade Peninsula.

“Tsk.”

Deep blue mana covered the sewer.

The cockroach magical beasts disappeared, leaving behind a stench.

“Tsk!”

Onseu Om rampaged.

He used his immense power extravagantly.

He was a swordsman, yet he didn't even draw his sword, simply blasting deep blue mana here and there from his brass arm.

Yet, there was no sign of exhaustion.

That brass arm had three 16-unit mana reactors.

Considering that Maesh's 12-seater magi-chariot uses a single 8-unit mana reactor for power, one could tell what a preposterous object that brass arm was.

It was enough mana to make an ordinary person's body explode.

“I’ve already killed thousands, but there's no end to them.”

Onseu Om seemed to have gotten the hang of it in the meantime. The swarm of bugs had wings but couldn't fly, so just by sweeping the floor and walls, they were killed and fell in droves. It wasn't bad, except for the terrible stench.

“Bug magical beasts are such a pain. They're too stupid to even know fear.”

A normal swarm of magical beasts would have turned tail by now.

Onseu Om, full of vigor, pushed straight ahead.

Meh, Pneuve, and I followed behind him.

There was no reason to complain as he went ahead and took care of the troublesome work.

Pneuve Freira was holding a small sack containing Onseu Om's navy frock coat and tricorne hat in his arms.

The clothes were already dirty, but he seemed concerned that they might get even dirtier.

He knew how much Brass Arm cherished his old officer's uniform.

“Department Head Meh.”

“What is it, Pneuve.”

“According to the plan, shouldn't we have arrived by now?”

“Actually…….”

Meh stroked his mustache. His hawk-like black eyes sank slightly.

“…We might be jote.”

“Pardon? Jo… what?”

Pneuve let out a bewildered sound.

“Why are you cursing…….”

“Jote, to be precise, is Ji-oteu.”

I interjected.

“It's a Horm language word meaning God's absence. It’s not quite a curse, more of a harsh expression, like slang.”

“That's right. As expected, you know, Shion.”

“It’s common knowledge, Meh.”

“Mushat.”

“Mushat.”

Meh nodded his head.

He couldn't help but be pleased with me, who knew his native language.

“I apologize for using a harsh expression in my panic. But we may indeed be Ji-oteu.”

“…No, I'm sure it was a faster and stronger pronunciation…….”

“You're mistaken.”

Meh said firmly. Pneuve Freira didn't press the matter further.

“More importantly, why do you say we are Ji-oteu?”

“Look here.”

He raised his finger and pointed to the right.

Due to the darkness, I had thought it was a wall, but when the mana lamp was brought closer, something else came into view.

At first, it was a swarm of cockroach magical beasts, which Onseu Om pulverized with a swing of his arm.

Next, the remains of what used to be a passage.

“…A cave-in?”

“Yes. The map clearly shows a path here, but it's blocked by collapsed stones.”

Meh nodded with a serious face.

“It's hard to know how many paths are blocked like this, or how useful this map will be.”

“But we still have to go further in, right?”

“On the contrary, we must go further in.”

He was the head of the technical department of the Bururade Canal Company.

He had a duty to find out what problem had occurred in this sewer.

“How far are we going?”

“To the third sluice gate. To the threshold of the closed-off lower section.”

His voice was somewhat heavy.

“As originally planned.”

***

There was no great difficulty in advancing.

Onseu Om, who had gotten the hang of it, cleared the way by swinging a sword of deep blue mana here and there.

Pneuve, Meh and I all had the strength to protect ourselves, so we could hurry our steps.

Between the filth and the stench.

After splish-splashing around, either winding about or going straight, we soon came to a large, open space.

Onseu Om stepped back, and Pneuve Freira stepped forward.

“According to the map, the third sluice gate is across this cavern.”

“Could you light up the area?”

“Not difficult at all.”

A light shone behind Pneuve's head. Two leaves of light resembling pointed willow leaves.

A Binary Halo.

Proof that Pneuve Freira was a Two-Star Mage.

Twelve lumps of light flew out and illuminated the large space.

The sewer became as bright as day.

Onseu Om, who checked his footing, let out a groan, euk.

Illuminated by the bright light, it was far dirtier than he had thought.

In particular, things like cockroach leg fragments produced an indescribable sense of disgust.

“We've come the right way. That is the third sluice gate.”

Meh furrowed his brow.

His expression became surprisingly fierce.

It felt out of place with his gentle way of speaking.

I asked in a whisper.

“Is there another problem, Meh?”

“…The Merion sewer is at least 400 years old. During the construction of the Grand Canal, we had no choice but to carry out large-scale repairs. We sealed off the entire lower section, built a new sewage treatment facility in the middle section, and separated the upper section to connect it with the canal management facilities……”

He glared at the third sluice gate across the cavern.

“The third sluice gate was completely sealed off at that time. Though it was called a gate, we made it so it could never be opened again. But now……”

Meh's eyes were fiercely black.

“…The gate is open.”

Beyond the third sluice gate, a deep darkness gaped its maw.

The throat connecting to the lower section, sealed off more than twenty years ago, was wide open.

A swarm of cockroach magical beasts could be seen going in and out of the open sluice gate.

“If it was sealed, how did it open?”

“I don't know either. But it was the first construction project I took on after coming to the west of the Great Mountain Range, so I remember it clearly. We installed explosives on the gate and completely collapsed it.”

He pointed at the open third sluice gate.

The collapsed debris was neatly cleared to the side.

Some of the rocks even showed smooth cut surfaces, as if they had been sliced.

“It's impossible for it to look like that without a human hand.”

“…Someone broke through the sealed third sluice gate and infiltrated the lower section of the sewer?”

“And perhaps, the abnormal outbreak of magical beasts might also be the work of a person.”

Onseu Om suddenly cuts in.

“Ridiculous!”

Brass Arm's face was uncharacteristically serious.

“Do you even know what you're saying?”

He took a gulp of his hard liquor and continued.

“You might not know because you're from Horm, but creating magical beasts is a grave sin among grave sins! Those Cordis devil bastards… no, even they wouldn't do such a thing!”

“I know what I am saying. I am not unaware of how horrific a thing it is to create magical beasts, how much it goes against the providence of the gods.”

Mushat. Meh muttered with a cold face.

“And yet, I ask you to consider what it means that we must consider this terrible possibility.”

“…Tsk.”

Onseu Om clicked his tongue.

The words ‘terrible possibility’ were heavy. Pneuve Freira's face also hardened.

Artificial magical beasts were a taboo among taboos.

This was not a problem on the level of poor canal management.

Only I, Shion Pollinglight, the regressor prince who knew even things that had not yet happened, smiled bluely amidst the group.

As always, I held a secret to myself with a face that was even somewhat detestable.

“For now, we must get closer to the sluice gate. We'll be able to judge for sure once we see the traces.”

“…You want to get closer?”

“Yes, Pneuve.”

Pneuve Freira swallowed a groan.

The twelve lumps of light he had shot out were still illuminating the large space.

Thanks to them, he saw it. That black, shiny nightmare, incomparable to the others…….

“Meh, I'm sorry but…….”

“I can also see the enormous cockroach that has taken up position in front of the third sluice gate.”

As Meh said, it was enormous.

The cockroach magical beasts, even the small ones, were about the size of a five-year-old child, but that one looked to be fifty times bigger.

With a little exaggeration, the cockroach was about the same size as the Art Gallery Lamponé building.

Regardless of their original habits, swarms of magical beasts often have a leader.

Usually, the first one to mutate becomes the leader and it is easy to identify as it often boasts overwhelming size and power compared to other individuals.

Probably that thing, the building-sized cockroach, was the leader of the magical beast swarm.

“But we have no choice. This may now be a problem directly related to the well-being of Merion, no, of the Bururade Peninsula.”

“…So in the end, we have to do something about that thing.”

Pneuve Freira let out a deep sigh.

A building-sized cockroach. He wondered if a sword could even penetrate its carapace.

Moreover, a dim light of mana was shining from behind its antennae.

It possessed a Halo, so it was already worthy of being called a Magical Beast.

“Even at a glance, it's been a Magical Beast for a long time……”

“A cockroach Magical Beast. Damn it. Why do I have to see something like that……”

Onseu Om folded his arms and stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

He couldn't taste it much because of the stench, but he was so irritated he felt he had to have a cigarette in his mouth.

“I've already done enough work. You'd agree.”

He exhaled smoke and glared at me.

“You, kid! Isn't it about time you did something?”

“I was just about to, Brass Arm.”

I, Shion Pollinglight, stepped forward without hesitation.

“I was getting bored, too.”

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