9-31. Pests Extermination Operation (2)
Satou's here. I once saw an old movie where the characters became small and went on an adventure inside human body during an old movie festival. I thought that it was absurd, but I could feel the diversity of people's imagination to come up with something that I couldn't think of.
◇
It's dangerous if I don't control the speed when I'm moving in the void sky using sky drive. Even though there's gravity, the air resistance is near zero, so it's possible to move at several times the speed of sound even without acceleration from magic. It's dangerous not to think about braking when I start to accelerate. I'd like to have the advanced magic, [<>], and [<>]
When my movement using Sky Drive exceeded the speed of sound, I obtained a skill, and two titles.
>[Flash Drive Skill Acquired]
>Title [Fast One] Acquired
>Title [Conqueror of the Heavens] Acquired
The Flash Drive skill I've acquired this time is a combination of Sky Drive and Ground Shrink as a set. I realized that after I had activated the skill. Since I can move like I'm flowing unlike when I use the two skills as a set, this might be more convenient. With Sky Drive and Ground Shrink, I can only move linearly no matter what. Against an opponent of the Wild Boar King class, there's danger of being read ahead, so I think this is good. Yes, it's not a waste of skill points.
While varnishing it on my own mind, I use the Flash Drive at once to collect the broken world tree branches that are falling.
The removal of the jellyfish seems to be going smoothly.
It'll be nice if there's nothing happen--oops--if Arisa was here, she'd say.
『That's a flag you know?』
At the same time as when that hallucination hits my ears, my crisis perception give me some slight warnings. There are two places it reacts to. I accelerate toward the nearest place.
『All hands, abandon your post! Everyone, evacuate to the observatory deck.』
I can hear Aialize-san using [Mass Telephone] to send emergency signal to the elves who are executing the plan. If I'm not mistaken, it's the maximum priority evacuation order for when fatal failure occurs.
The elves abandon each cage that they're handling and move toward the observatory. The light ship comes to the slow tank, and picks only the crews.
The jellyfish that have been in [Sleeping] condition up until just now are starting to slowly but surely change to [Frenzy] condition.
There are two places that experience the change. Both are the places where my crisis perception reacted a while ago.
『I repeat, all hands, abandon your post! Everyone, evacuate to the observatory deck.』
Aialize-san's thought trembles.
It's probably because of the place I'm going where the elves aren't evacuating. Troubling thing. [Protect your life] order should be required shouldn't it.
『Kiya, Doa! Leave the golem tank and hurry withdraw.』
Ah, those two huh. They're Sotorineya-san's teachers who cherish the golem tank that's on the brink of becoming a scrap like it's their own child. I've also consulted them various things during the making of the scarecrows.
I know that they cherish that junk tank, but to not follow the evacuation order like this.
『Sa, no, sir Pendragon! You have to escape too. Don't overestimate your own strength! Even dragons would be burned by the attack of the world tree!』
When I was shelving myself, a precise named order from Aialize-san came. She shouldn't have forced herself to use my house name. Calling me by my name would have been fine. Or rather, please call my name.
There are spherical lightnings on the several hundreds meters area around the round golem where Kiya and Doa are riding.
Wonder if this'll work.
"You big ginseng tree! Is it branch, or is it root, make it clear!"
I slap my thought to the nearest branch by using [Telephone].
It would appear that this provocation is working.
Purple lightning extends out of the spherical lightning, and goes to me like a living thing.
Of course it's not because of the provocation. Since I've heard from Aialize-san that the world tree uses lightning to attack, I put use of the new magic, [Lightning Rod], and ward the lightning.
It's quite high-performance even though it's just an intermediate magic.
The giant dark gray pillar that the [Lightning Rod] has produced splendidly stop the extra-large lightning that looks as if it can make you return to the past 10 times.
I check the exterior of the stranded golem tank. It seems that three among six of its leg on one side can't move. I quickly go down beside it with the Flash Drive, remove the broken parts of the world tree branches that obstruct it, and put the power tubes that got torn apart into the storage.
After finishing the repair that takes as long as making an instant ramen, the world tree prepares its second attack.
There are seven thunderbolts coming this time.
When I evade it as my magic couldn't, the largish branch behind me is carbonized, and breaks. That's bad, if I carelessly evade, the world tree will become the victim.
Protecting the world tree from the attack of the world tree feels somehow unproductive.
◇
I've understood the cause of the jellyfish's frenzies.
There are around 30 jellyfish larvae in the branch several hundreds meter ahead. They look like oval balloons. They're as big as human torso, and brightly emit pale green light.
The jellyfish inside the cages are flickering to match the waves of the lights that emit from the larvae. Come think of it, it's said that, "They plant the eggs into the world tree" isn't it.
I reuse the net that the thieves used to catch the knights back then, and capture the jellyfish larvae with it. I use the net since [Magic Hands] are busy picking the broken parts. I throw the larvae that have been captured on the net to the void sky.
The self-defense lightning generated by the world tree mercilessly turns the jellyfish larvae into cinders. Of course, the world tree was aiming for me who was on a straight line from the larvae.
The jellyfish have changed from [Frenzy] to [Rage].
So that abnormal status also exist huh.
『The two have escaped, please come back fast! If you don't, I'll go there!』
My ears hurt from the evacuation orders that Aialize-san has entreated since awhile ago.
I'm sorry for her, but let me do as I please here. The ice cages seem like they'll break if I leave the jellyfish alone now. It'll be fine if they get back to their normal conditions, but I have a hunch that they would start rampaging.
『I beg you, please come backk.』
I'm sorry, Aialize-san.
I invoke the [Kaleidoscope] and [Survey Laser] magic I've obtained from the duchy capital scroll workshop together.
The Kaleidoscope magic is named by Arisa. This magic generates several mirrors that changes the convergence rate of light and reflect it. I can arbitrary control these mirrors after they've been created just like remote arrows.
This Survey Laser is the result of my experiment to create laser pointers. Of course it has no power to kill even if I shoot it with all my might. It's an ECO design that doesn't deplete magic power even if it's radiated for a long time.
The Survey Lasers that are harmless according to my AR are reflected by the Kaleidoscope, and diffused while leaving trails in the void sky.
The ice cages seem to have come to their limits early. The sleeping drugs seem to be still effective as the movements of the jellyfish are dull, they extend their feelers toward me like crawling in the void sky.
『Mou, stupid Satou.... I'll tell Mia and Arisa.』
Aialize-san's crying voice sure is also cute.
While thinking how to follow-up her, my consciousness is concentrated toward the Survey Lasers.
Alright, I've affixed the last line.
I clear off the Survey Laser, and fire [Laser]. Of course, I'm not converging the 120 lasers like I was doing against the great monstrous fish. That's going to be overkill. Before that, the excessive power of the converged laser would probably break the kaleidoscope anyway.
The 120 lasers become 10.000 when they pass through Kaleidoscope.
Countless light penetrate the void sky, shooting through only the jellyfish and pass through the gaps between the world tree branches, disappearing.
The miscalculation is regarding the ice cages. The locations where the laser penetrate it evaporate, and strange accelerations are happening. I can't let the ice cages be destroyed by the lasers. If that happens, hot steam will violate the world tree branches.
I go around the void sky with Flash Drive, and collect the ice cages into my storage. Some largish branches were broken when the ice cages crashed, but please overlook this much damage.
In the first place, it would have been simple if the request was for me to do the extermination. Yet, the request was for [The way for the elves to exterminate them], so the scale became large. Based on this failure, we should add about the removal of the eggs in the extermination manual.
The telephone from Aialize-san had stopped before I knew it, so I decided to prioritize the clean-up.
While I continue to use the lightning rods to ward the world tree lightning attacks like usual, I capture the jellyfish larvae on the other place. I felt that the larvae can be used against the jellyfish, but since it seemed so heinous, I passed on it. I gave a silent prayer to the larvae that had been roasted by the lightning, and moved to do the next work.
◇
I have completely destroyed about 70 points where the jellyfish colonies have laid their eggs. Of course I used the map search to discover their locations. Even though there wasn't even one when I last visited the void sky 10 days ago, just when did they lay their eggs. I should have searched again before the operation began.
Since there were some eggs that had slipped into a branch, I used [Magic Hand] to pick them out after confirming its location with [Through Eye] magic. Please forgive me for breaking the barks during that time. I didn't think [Saps GET] at all, nope. The sap that I got during that time became an item called [Contaminated Sap].
The world tree is made to think that the jellyfish is a part of it probably due to the poison produced by the jellyfish eggs. Since there were eggs that were deep inside, I decided to break the branches and went inside to destroy it. When I slipped into the branches, the world tree ceased its lightning attacks. The lightning is probably exclusive for external enemies.
The inside of the world tree branches is filled with earthen pipes-like things for water. The mana thickens as I get closer to the trunk. I cut my way through it while avoiding battles as much as possible against the self-defense antibody that acts typical of white blood cells, and devoted myself to destroy the jellyfish eggs.
◇
"Satou's reaction has disappeared."
"That's terrible huh."
I greet so to Aialize-san who's sunk down on the floor, looking at the ceiling.
"Mou, what are you so carefree about! He's saved the world tree you know!? Why are you speaking like that!"
Her angry face is beautiful too.
I tell Aialize-san who's unusually full of anger, "I'm home."
Her blank expression is quite nice too.
Since I had gone quite deep into the trunk, it was troublesome to go back the normal way, so I came back with [Return] magic that I had just made at the duchy capital. Looks like that was the reason her tracking lost track of me. Since I felt like I was being watched, I think that it was a magic similar to [Clairvoyance].
"Welcome home."
Aialize-san mutters, overcame with surprise.
"Welcome home."
Why, are you saying it twice?
"Welcome home, Satou."
I hug back Aialize-san who's clung on my neck. Arisa would have said, "Guilty", if she saw this.
"I'm home, Aze."
I replied so while lovingly stroked the hair of the sobbing high elf-sama.