Book 2: Chapter 468

The Great Fusion.

A super phenomenon that had occurred five years ago.

The initial harbingers of this were the earthquakes on an extra large scale that shook the entire planet.

But it was strange. Earthquakes are one of the most terrifying disasters that can occur naturally.

If there was an earthquake on such a scale to shake the entire planet, then it wouldn’t be strange if the planet shattered. But no cracks could be found whether it be on land or in the sea. There were also no reports of casualties from the earthquake.

An unpleasantly calm feeling. Because of this, the most influential group among the organisations on Earth, ‘The Hunter Association’, judged that this phenomenon was a large-scale manoeuvre of the demons.

But the demons they managed to capture alive, including noble class demons, all said that they had no idea what this phenomenon was.

Of course, they didn’t naively believe this response. It might have just been a plan that had been carried out so secretively that even the nobles didn’t know about it.

But it didn’t take humanity very long to realise that the demons had nothing to do with what happened.

Space had broken. It had shattered like a glass window.

Then, from beyond that pitch black space, appeared things that they’d never seen or heard of before.

Otherworlders.

Beings who lived in a completely different world from this one.

Most people were astonished, but the smarter ones despaired.

They were already at war with the demons, who had invaded their world, for the fate of their species. And at a time like this, beings from another, different world appeared… Perhaps humanity’s situation would become even worse than it had been before.

But the situation developed in an unexpected way.

First of all, not all of the Otherworlders were from the same world. The inhabitants from various worlds that appeared were so many that Planet Earth felt small. But in the process of their appearance, the planet’s size also seemed to grow by several times.

It was only then that humanity realised that it wasn’t just the otherworlders that had appeared.

In some cases, in certain areas, entire villages or even cities were moved. That wasn’t all.

It was later discovered that there were also places on Earth that had simply disappeared. And the hypothesis that those areas may have been sent to other worlds gained a considerable amount of credibility.

The Hunter Association later decided to give this phenomenon the name ‘Great Fusion’.

The otherworlders were not hostile to humanity. Instead, some of them had surprisingly similar cultures and ways of thinking to the humans on Earth that they could be called ‘other humanity’. This meant that they were rational and possessed a fairly high level of knowledge.

But not all the otherworlders were like that. Some of them seemed to have even more violent and dangerous thoughts than the demons.

Nevertheless, there wasn’t any immediate chaos.

This was because most of the other humanity were intelligent.

Exploring the surroundings, understanding the situation, reserving power, or preparing some plot.

The various factions didn’t immediately choose all out war to achieve their respective goals.

Instead, they first identified the neighbouring forces, promoted the exchange of information, and created secret alliances with those who had similar tendencies.

There were also some who just chose to remain silent, and didn’t respond to the conversations. The association couldn’t tell what they were thinking or how powerful they were. The confrontation between the humans and the demons also didn’t disappear.

Most of the Hunters were aware of this.

It wouldn’t be strange for a huge war with the demons to break out at any moment.

In other words, the current situation was like a giant powder keg on the verge of exploding.

* * *

The gangster, Sergei, swallowed dryly.

He’d answered all the questions. In the first place, it wasn’t anything to hide. All of the knowledge he’d shared could be obtained by stopping and asking anyone on the street.

…But what was going on? Something was strange.

It had already been five years since the Great Fusion. It could be called a short time, but it was by no means insufficient to adapt to an unexpectedly massive event.

The humans, otherworlders, and even the demons. A vast majority of intelligent beings understood, accepted and adapted to the current situation.

But this man acted as if he didn’t know anything about a situation like the Great Fusion. Could it be that he hadn’t left his territory for a long time?

No. He didn’t seem confused enough for that to be the case.

How should he say it?

It felt like the man was focused more on the ‘changes’ that had happened to Earth, rather than the ‘phenomenon’ known as the Great Fusion.

This fact caused him to have suspicions about where he was from, but Sergei didn’t show any signs of this. There wasn’t even a hint.

This was something he’d learned while going around back alleys since he was young. In this crazy world, his life was only a bit tougher than a winged insect— and the man in front of him could easily crush him between his fingers.

He’d have to be a fool to die such a miserable death.

“…”

Of course, the man, Lukas, had no intention of taking Sergei’s life. However, his characteristic emotionless expression when he was lost in thought created a strange sense of intimidation, and to Sergei, it only seemed that he was contemplating whether to kill him or not.

‘Almost as I expected.’

He had a rough picture of the situation. There were still a few detailed questions that he needed answered, but he wouldn’t get the answers he wanted from Sergei even if he asked.

Standing up, Lukas said.

“Lets’ go.”

“Mm?”

Pale, who was looking down at the unconscious gangsters, called out curiously.

“Aren’t we going to eat them?”

“They aren’t things you should eat.”

“Ay. Unlike the thing before, these guys are made of meat, aren’t they?”

Sergei, who was still prostrated on the ground, flinched heavily. He instinctively realised.

Those words weren’t said as a bluff or a joke.

At that moment, he recalled Pale’s unusually pointy teeth and began to shake violently.

“These guys… they wouldn’t taste good. They’re dirty too.”

“We can grill them and eat them.”

“There are a lot more delicious things around here. Aren’t there?”

Sergei quickly raised his head at those words.

“O-, of course there is! There is an amazing restaurant at the three way intersection! It’s called Kalinka(Калинка), with a barley coloured sign…”

Sergei introduced the eatery in the neighbourhood as if it was a top notch restaurant, and even took it a step further by rifling through the pockets of the other gangsters before taking their wallets and offering them to Lukas.

As he looked at the wad of cash, Lukas realised something.

In this world, it was still the dollar that played the role of currency.

‘That can’t be helped.’

Although it was said that several universes had merged and there was a huge influx of otherworlders, the basic setting was Earth.

About 500 dollars.

Although he didn’t know the going prices in this era, it should at least be enough for one meal. Lukas grabbed the wrist of the salivating Pale and left the back alley.

“W-, walk safely!”

Sergei’s foolish farewell came from behind them.

After returning to the street and looking around, he could feel it more clearly. There were more Knights, Mercenaries and Hunters on the street than civilians.

They also had their guards raised so that they could respond at any time if a battle were to break out.

‘That’s natural.’

If Pale hadn’t slaughtered the demon army, this city would have already become a hellish scene.

Even if the aerial warship ‘Diark’ had participated as a reinforcement, they would not have come out unscathed. Luanoble had probably already confirmed the demon’s retreat. Nevertheless, the fact that the wartime conditions hadn’t been lifted meant that they were trying to understand the current situation.

After he had these many thoughts, he found the restaurant Sergei had told them about.

But the door was firmly closed since it wasn’t open for business at that moment.

‘…’

Thinking about it, this was natural.

Given the situation in the city, the civilians must have been aware of the demon attack, so no store would continue to operate peacefully—

At that moment, the door opened.

“Huh?”

It was a chubby middle aged man. He had a rich beard running from ear to ear, and if he were holding a beer mug in his hand, it would have suited him perfectly.

“What is it?”

“…ah. I heard that the food at this restaurant is delicious.”

“Hmm.”

When he gave this slightly stupid answer, the man, who seemed to be the owner, stroked his beard.

“It doesn’t seem to be open, so we’ll come back another time.”

“…No. It was just about to open.”

“Huh?”

“The demons ran away. Mm. Haven’t you heard?”

The owner shrugged.

“Well, it seems that the other stores in the area intend to open as normal from tomorrow, but I have debts to pay, so I don’t think it’d be worth it to take a day off.”

“…”

“So, are you going to keep standing around like that?”

“No.”

Lukas headed inside with Pale. Naturally, there weren’t any customers inside.

The inside felt a bit messy, but he didn’t really have a choice anyway. The owner had just said it. The other stores in the area would only open up tomorrow.

After taking a seat at a table, he looked at the menu. It was food from Russia, not Luanoble, that was listed there. This was better. The food from Earth was so much more advanced than in his home universe that they were impossible to compare.

He ordered Borsh(Борш), Samsa(Самса), and five grilled skewers with a complicated name.

Fortunately, the food wasn’t too expensive.

Pale looked at the menu curiously.

“Hihi. That smells delicious.”

“He hasn’t even started preparing the ingredients yet.”

Pale pointed towards the owner and said.

“I mean the chubs that was…”

Lukas poured the water from the glass in front of him into her mouth. Pale gulped the cold water without saying anything.

The store wasn’t very large. It had five or six tables, a few flowerpots, and a large hanging TV that didn’t quite fit on the ceiling.

[…As a result of this, the Director of the European Association, Nina Rednikova, has decided to call the new power rising in Germany Werebeasts.]

A face he longed to see was visible on the screen.

Nina Rednikova.

She didn’t look much older than the last time he’d seen her. However, her behaviour displayed an attitude that seemed to be much more mature than before.

She’d been blinded by a powerful curse in the past, but she had been cured by the power of Arid, one of Lukas’ disciples. He didn’t know what happened after that because he’d left for the Great Field, but looking at her face now, it seemed that she was able to overcome her trauma.

‘Not just her.’

There were countless people in this world who had a deep relationship with Lukas. But he didn’t have a very strong feeling to reunite with them. This had nothing to do with the fact that they might not remember him.

It was because Lukas had cut off his obsession with them.

—He was able to get more information than he expected from the TV. Even if it might only be a part of the daily lives of the people living here, everything that was reported was vital information for Lukas, who had been in the World of Void all this while.

‘The Association is still influential.’

If that was the case, then it probably meant that the President of the Association, ‘Neil Prand’, had also returned successfully.

That man had suddenly disappeared with Letip, a Lord under the Lightning God. Of course, Lukas hadn’t met him in the preliminaries.

Clatter-

The food came out just in time.

First was the borsh, a traditional Russian soup, and samsa, which was baked unfermented bread with meat.

A red soup with various vegetables floating around. As soon as the food came out, Pale held the bowl between her hands and drank it all. The tableware of the table was completely disregarded. The samsa, which was the size of a fist, disappeared as quickly as a crab hides its eyes.

“…how was it?”

“Mm. So so…”

As if she was unhappy, Pale added.

“The portion was too small.”

The owner, who had just brought the food out, looked at Lukas with a ridiculous expression.

“When was the last time she ate?”

It had only been about an hour since she’d eaten the demons.

“I’m not sure.”

Of course, he couldn’t say that, so he responded in a vague manner. Shrugging, the owner returned to the kitchen. Then, he brought out eight skewers and a bottle of vodka.

“I didn’t order alcohol.”

“There probably won’t be any more customers today. It’s a bit lonely to drink on my own, so I thought it would be good to do it now since I have company.”

Indeed. So that’s why he brought out more skewers. With a happy expression on her face, Pale started to eat again.

Since it was already too late to refuse, he nodded.

“Let’s have a drink.”

“Mm.”

The owner quietly lifted his glass. It was half filled with a clear liquid. Then, he emptied it in one go and held out the glass again. Lukas filled it up.

“…the world has gone mad.”

“…”

“But even in a world that has gone mad, you still need money. No, should I say you need money even more since the world has gone mad? Kuku.”

The owner laughed cynically.

“Ah. I’m not sure if this is something the otherworlders can relate to. Just take it as me whining. It doesn’t look like you two are from Earth, nor from Luanoble.”

So that was why he was talking like this to Lukas, who he had never seen before.

“What brings you to this city?”

“We were just wandering around and heard about it.”

“If you don’t have a specific reason, then you should leave soon. It won’t look good if you stay here for too long…”

Stopping, the owner looked at Lukas. His drunken face and loosened eyes were focused on Lukas’ face.

“Mm…? You, are you a celebrity?”

“Huh?”

“No, I’m sorry if I’m mistaken… Mm. It feels like I’ve seen you on TV before…”

It seemed that he was really drunk. Just as Lukas was about to pour him a glass of cold water.

The door was kicked open violently and a group of people stormed into the store. People wearing shining armour, Knights.

The owner leapt up abruptly.

“What are you doing?!”

His drunkenness immediately vanished as if it had been washed away. But the Knights ignored him and turned to Lukas.

“You two. Are you outsiders? Show your faces.”

“I asked what you are do-!”

Just as the owner reached out to grab the Knight’s shoulder… Paak! Another Knight beside him slapped the owner across the face. It was a gauntlet covered hand, and the owner was an ordinary civilian without any combat ability. So, naturally, he collapsed with blood spewing from his mouth.

“…”

Lukas’ eyes narrowed.

The Knights strode closer and crowded around the table as if they were surrounding them.

The middle aged Knight in the centre of the group spoke.

“Is it true that you entered Luanoble today?”

“Incidentally.”

“We have some questions for you. Follow us.”

“Where?”

The middle aged Knight’s eyebrow twitched when he heard Lukas’ short reply.

“…the castle. And let me give you some advice. Here in Luanoble, it would be smart to be polite to the Knights. If you want to keep living.”

Lukas got to his feet and looked around before saying.

“Where are they?”

“What?”

“Where are the Knights?”

“…huu.”

The middle aged Knight sighed before saying.

“No matter where you go, there will be races that cannot understand even when you explain things nicely.”

‘…”

Then he gestured.

“Don’t kill them, subdue them.”

Clink.

As ordered, the Knights slowly closed in on Lukas.

(3/3 – This is the end of the owed chapters. Sorry for the delay)