Life didn't get easier, even in another world

286 It didn’t go as planned

“The reverse?”

The light-brown-haired boy gave a nod.

“Yeah. Like... Someone, or maybe a group of people, who lived a few decades ago, created a weapon by... using those artifacts?”

Kairen tilted his head. That didn’t seem right.

“Weren’t they investigating the source of the powers? They found out about the Atypical matter that way and... then created those weapons...”

Kairen paused again.

Which one was correct? Did those scientists find out about Atypical matter and then created weapons that would create a reaction in those ancient artifacts all by chance? There was the possibility that those scientists studied or maybe used those artifacts in their research... and now some of those artifacts were in the hands of Philomns, who were unlike the scientists 50 years ago, successful in creating bombs using Atypical matter.

Kairen thought the latter was most probably the correct guess, or maybe closer to the answer.

“But how did the people of ancient times create something that could react to Atypical matter?”

.....

Kairen mumbled. That was the strangest thing here. Was that even possible?

“So you are telling me that...”

BOMMMM

Another loud explosion and some other shakings. They heard loud noises every second so they weren’t surprised anymore.

Not even blinking at the sound of something crashing into the ground, Serria continued her words.

“There is something called Atypical matter, that some people tried to make it into weapons, and that these artifacts can block that power?”

Kairen nodded his head.

“But wait, didn’t your power also block that bomb?”

Reyan also chimed in.

“Doesn’t that mean your power is something similar to whatever is inside those artifacts?”

Kairen tilted his head.

“That might be. Honestly, I won’t be surprised anymore about what my power can do.”

He shrugged his shoulders and leaned his head on the wall.

‘I wanna go home...’

His eyes threatened to close at any moment and he felt dizzy and nauseous. He only kept talking in order to prevent himself from falling asleep right here right now.

“But, who was the one who created those artifacts?”

Kairen shrugged again.

“I don’t know? Maybe Emperor Reynold?”

“What? Emperor Reynold?”

Kairen shrugged again.

“I heard those were the things that Emperor Reynold left behind before vanishing. And they were used by the generals for hundreds of years before the battle with The Holy Saint when all of the generals died.”

“Wow!”

Serria’s eyes suddenly started to sparkle.

“Was Emperor Reynold a fortune teller?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Reyan and Kairen turned to her at the same time.

“Just think of it! The emperor left some artifacts for his people and then left. Those artifacts then were handed to people from generation to generation. If that Holy Saint hadn’t appeared, they would probably still be in use, or maybe be kept in a museum or something. Then, people who could use a creeping power appeared with some creepy weapons, which could only be blocked by those artifacts!”

“...”

“...”

“Doesn’t it almost look like Emperor Reynold left those behind to protect us from the dangers of the future? Then doesn’t that make him a fortune teller?”

Reyan and Kairen stared at the girl in silence.

‘That isn’t something impossible?’

Kairen had decided to think about nothing as impossible. And thinking about Serria’s words, they seemed ridiculous but possible to some extent.

“That-”

-Hey!”

Reyan’s words were interrupted by a sound that was coming from the communication device in Serria’s hands.

-Can you- SSSHHH Shhhh Hea- SHHHH

The voice was too static that they could understand almost nothing.

“Team leader? Is that you?”

Serria screamed to the device.

-Serr- SHHH Where- SHSHHS

The voice seemed to ask where they were, so Serria shouted the location to the device again.

-SHHHHHH SHHHHH

But there were no words coming from it this time.

“Team leader? Team leader?”

-.....

And then, they couldn’t hear the statistical sounds anymore.

“What the hell!”

Serria shook the device up and down.

“Did it break? Or is the team leader’s device broken?”

She tapped to bottoms on the device one by one.

“It is also possible that they are too far away from us.”

“Too far away? How could they leave this place and move so far so fast?”

Kairen answered her instead of Reyan.

“Maybe they used... Mmmm...”

He instantly closed his mouth. Gulping down the hot liquid rising in his throat, he resumed talking again.

“They could’ve used Claire...”

The two pairs of eyes that were watching Kairen’s pale face with worry widened.

“Claire? That girl who is always with that... Um... Ron, was it?”

“Yeah... that girl.”

‘I want to throw up... damn it!’

“She can... huff. She can create portals to move far away so...”

“Kairen? Are you fine?”

Kairen ignored Reyan.

“They must’ve... run away.... from The First... using her portals...”

“They...”

Serria gazed at the comunication deveice.

“They left us behind and ran away? No way!”

Kairen could see her a little bit scared face through his blurred vision.

‘Isn’t Ron done yet?’

The ground had been shaking intensely since a few seconds ago. He wondered what they were doing out there.

.....

‘They used... Atypical matter to create weapons... and then... Emperor Reynold... who fought against the monsters and... is said to be to one... who brought the unique powers to people... and left the artifacts...’

Trying to keep himself again, Kairen thought about anything that crossed his mind.

‘So he knew about... Atypical matter... And my power is also... similar to that power... but at the same time... can block those bombs... those artifacts.... give people after effects... the after effects were said... appear because... the power is used beyond... the soul’s capacity of... containing the Universal Matter... you get... cursed if you use the artifacts too much... and they said that... the soul is made up of universal matter... Then those artifacts can... manipulate the universal matter?... If they can then... using that Atypical matter that is also... related to the universal matter.... that is created from the clash of elements... is my power also something like that?.... that white-haired man... that Holy Saint also had... a power similar to mine...’

His vision was getting darker and darker and the world was spinning around him. He just closed his eyes, scared that he might really throw up at this rate.

‘The Holy Saint... Long white hair... long... hair... like the... drawing on the... platform of that... first ruin we visited... That man was... holding a torch... the ruins... the third ruin also... had that... village...’

“Kairen? Hey! Kairen!”

SLAP SLAP SLAP

Reyan was slapping his cheek. It made Kairen annoyed. He was in pain himself, why was he slapping him?

“Stop!”

Kairen retorted as loud as he could.

“Ah!”

Reyan gasped and stopped slapping him. Kairen went back to thinking again.

‘That sentence... what was it... three red stars... thundered in the dark sky... Thundering... red electric currents... three stars... three ruins... red thunder... striking the living... the weapons that kill... everything...’

Things were making sense little by little in a strange way. Kairen, whose mind was also getting hazy, couldn’t completely connect everything together.

‘Ron also has that stone... I should... Ask...’

BOOOMMMM

As Kairen’s head got too heavy for him to think properly anymore, a loud sound came from right behind the barriers. A few seconds later Kairen could feel rays of light brightening the dark dam that was created inside the soil walls and a soft breeze.

He could tell that his brother was done fighting. Kairen cracked his eye slightly open to see the scene outside, but he soon regretted it.

Through the blurry vision, he could see his brother covered in dust and blood, that he hoped wasn’t his own blood, and two figures laid down behind him in the shape of two bloody messes.

“Uh...”

Reyan gasped upon seeing his uncle who was clearly barely alive and the other traitor that was almost dead.

“We should leave this place before any more enemies come.”

Aaron commented as he walked toward Kairen. He crouched down behind the half unconscious Kairen and grabbed his shoulders.

“Hey! Can you hear me?”

Kairen could hear him. He was too tired to talk, but he opened his mouth to answer the question as he didn’t want to worry this man.

“I am- cough.”

His words were interrupted by a cough.

“Ugh...”

Kairen could feel something hot in his mouth. The hot thing was oozing out of his lips and dripping down his chin.

“Ren?”

“Kairen!”

“Whoa! What?”

He could hear three panicked voices calling out to him. Kairen wanted to gulp down the hot liquid, but he ended up throwing up even more.

‘Sure I would... throw up right now...’

Wasn’t he too unlucky?

“Ren! We should... leave right... now!”

Now even the voices were getting distant. Everything was hard to understand. Resisting more against the urge to sleep seemed impossible so Kairen just closed his only half-open eye and let sleep take over his body. The last thing he thought of before fainting was about a sad, but expected result.

‘The plan didn’t work after all... Nothing went as planned...’