The 4th of October, dawn.
The Omega successfully landed on a snowfield so white it seemed to freeze the vision of whoever saw it.
“There are certain areas where the fluctuating climate caused by the Great Fusion has not recovered. This place is probably the same. This snowy field hasn’t melted in the slightest in the last four seasons.”
Lukas had a subtle feeling.
When he’d seen the map, this place had been covered by a black stain. That was why he’d believed that this place had already died or been devastated, but when they arrived, the scene was the opposite.
“Huu…”
With every breath, it felt like his lungs would freeze.
Although it was only the beginning of autumn, in this place, it was already winter.
“Although, geographically, this place was probably classified as [Inner Mongolia]…”
The reason Dok Go-yun used past tense was probably because he wasn’t sure just how many regions had been mixed into this place.
Letting out a breath, Dok Go-yun continued.
“…to be precise, this place isn’t the Next Stage.”
At those words, the members of the party all looked up towards the sky at the same time. In fact, they weren’t just looking as everyone noticed the presence of that thing.
In this region, even if the sun was in the middle of the sky, it would probably be difficult to notice. This was because of an array of metal that covered the sky.
Part of the reason the snowfield refused to melt might be because the sunlight was blocked.
“As I mentioned earlier, the Next Stage is an extremely large artificial island.”
“Wow. It’s big.”
Pale tilted her head back 90 degrees. As a result, her waist gradually bent backwards like a bow until she fell flat onto the snowfield. Buried in the snow, Pale burst out laughing. Not knowing why, the girl in Pale’s arms simply looked up at her.
Although he didn’t express it, Dok Go-yun appeared to marvel at the size of the island, and even Yang In-hyun seemed surprised.
Lukas didn’t have much of an impression.
He had visited universes with even more advanced scientific power, and the Sky Continent in the ‘Great Field’ was so huge that this artificial island could not even compare.
Instead, Lukas paid more attention to the surrounding geography.
“There is a city at the bottom.”
“Ah, yes.”
“It seems inhabited.”
“…that’s right.”
Yang In-hyun spoke in an absurd tone.
“Those people don’t have any sense of crisis. If that island were to fall by chance, they would all be annihilated.”
Dok Go-yun smiled bitterly.
“Moreover, it’s dozens of times more dangerous to live in the area outside than to be crushed to death by the island. At the very least, as long as the ‘Next Stage’ remains in the air, there is no force big enough to touch this place.”
In this era of countless groups and organisations, very few organisations were as influential as the Great Galactic Alliance. And even fewer were reckless enough to wage an all out war against them.
Of course, it wasn’t clear whether the city beneath the Next Stage was actually a part of their alliance, but the simple fact that they were related to the Great Galactic Alliance was enough to prevent invasions by over 90% of external forces.
Hearing this series of circumstances, Lukas nodded.
When it came to issues or information about this chaotic world, Dok Go-yun was pretty well informed. He’d brought him along simply to use him as an excuse to participate in the VIP’s general review meeting, but he’d turned out to be surprisingly helpful in many other areas as well.
“Then let’s go to that city first.”
“Yes. We should obtain information about the Next Stage.”
Lukas looked at Pale, who was still laying on the snowfield.
“Pale, let’s go.”
“Mhm. Help me up, Butterfly.”
What was Butterfly? That was simple, it was the name of the monster girl.
Of course, she hadn’t introduced herself as that, and it was Pale who had named her arbitrarily. Butterfly couldn’t speak. This didn’t mean she wasn’t intelligent though, as she actually seemed to be very quick witted and able to understand what they said.
Even at that moment, she hesitantly got up from her seat and reached her hand out to Pale.
Pale seemed to like Butterfly very much. Lukas wondered why.
Did she simply sympathise with the fact that she was starving? Or was it Butterfly’s appearance that greatly shook Pale?
He couldn’t tell at that moment, but one thing was clear, Pale was beginning to care more and more about that girl.
* * *
The correct name for the region was [Manjuri City*, Inner Mongolia]. It was the place where Russia, China, and Mongolia met.
The basic foundation of the city was modern. Of course, this was according to Earth’s technological standards. Unlike Kazan, where there were almost no natives, there were well built streets in this place which seemed to be performing their roles properly. Cars were driving smoothly on them.
“Most of the people here are Earthlings.”
This fact became more apparent when they saw the crowded streets.
There were some people who were wrapped tightly in thick clothing, and others who seemed to have trained their bodies. But the vast majority were civilians with no visible combat capabilities.
People’s eyes turned towards them. The reason could be guessed.
“…our outfits stand out too much, I think that we should change outfits first.”
Dok Go-yun basically hated to stand out. Whenever attention was placed on him, for some reason, he felt uneasy and even displeased. He wasn’t sure if this was a natural tendency or an unwelcome by-product of living as the Heavenly Demon’s agent.
In any case, Dok Go-yun led the party into a nearby clothing store.
“Welcome.”
“The best and most expensive.”
“…”
The employee’s expression changed as they heard Dok Go-yun’s short and bold words, and they soon began the sales zealously.
Consequently, Lukas and Yang In-hyun chose coats, Dok Go-yun wanted to wear street fashion, and Pale strongly insisted on a pair of denim jeans and a jacket. Purely because she liked the colour blue.
“Blue is a bit…”
Dok Go-yun muttered softly but it didn’t look so strange that he couldn’t stand to see her wear it.
Pale had a tall and slim physique, so her look could roughly be called stylish. He couldn’t help but think that if her messy hair was arranged and her face gained some more flesh she would look even better.
Finally, Butterly was dressed in a hooded parka. It was a choice made because she was the one with the least resistance to cold among them.
When they came out dressed like that, it felt like they could blend better with the people in the street.
Afterwards, they headed to a nearby fast food store. Of course, this decision was secretly impacted by Dok Go-yun’s secret craving.
They sat at two tables, with Pale and Butterfly sitting together at a different table. This was because they alone ordered over 50 hamburgers. They piled the hamburgers up like a mountain and hummed as they peeled off the wrapping paper.
“The atmosphere in this city is stable.”
Dok Go-yun was speechless.
“It can even be said that not even the slightest hint of a sense of crisis could be felt. The citizens living here have never been directly exposed to danger.”
“Public order is maintained and public security is flawless. It must be quite peaceful.”
“Yes. The people outside would probably faint if they saw this.”
Horrible rumours about the regions on the map commonly known as ‘black spots’ circulated constantly. They either said the people there were treated like livestock, that large scale biological experiments were held, or that there was a never-ending war.
At least, based on the appearance of this city, they were all false.
“With this extent, it is safe to assume that they are protected by the Great Galactic Alliance. This isn’t a bad thing for us. The closer the relationship between this place and the Next Stage, the easier it will be to get information.”
“There are still six days left until the general review meeting. That should be enough to scout the surroundings and gather information.”
“First of all, it would be better to find out exactly how to enter the Next Stage.”
Yang In-hyun, who had been staring down at the fries, soon turned away and spoke.
“You mean a legitimate way to enter.”
“Yes. And… pardon my rudeness, but I believe it would be more efficient for me to do this on my own.”
“On your own? Will that be okay?”
“I’m confident in my ability to hide my presence.”
“Then we…”
“Can you take a look around the city together, to check if there is anything unusual?”
Although he said it politely, he was basically telling them to relax and tour around the city.
Lukas nodded. But he didn’t accept Dok Go-yun’s proposal. He also intended to obtain information on his own.
“Then the first thing we should do is establish a base of operations. On our way here, I saw a hotel. Shall we stay there for the time being?”
* * *
Along the way, they bought a lot of food from a supermarket. Pale had swept up most of the snacks, drinks and frozen food on the shelves. Lukas didn’t stop her. At the very least, he had learned that when Pale was quiet, she was probably eating something, so the more things she had to eat, the better.
Of course, the balance was left entirely to Dok Go-yun.
The hotel room was large and spacious, had centralised room service, and served meals in a buffet style.
There was no doubt that the cost of a day’s lodging would be huge.
“Osha.”
Pale rolled on the bed. It seemed that she liked it because it was soft. Butterfly was still beside her, while Yang In-hyun looked out at the scenery outside through the window. It seemed that he liked to look at the scenery from a high place as he’d done the same at the location of the Cloud Pavilion, where he’d stayed in the past.
Dok Go-yun left. It seemed that he intended to start collecting information immediately.
…Then.
What to do at that moment?
“There’s nothing to do.”
The expression of Pale, who seemed to have grown tired of the bed and was rummaging through a drawer, suddenly brightened.
“Ah. There is trump here t-”
“I won’t.”
He immediately rejected Pale’s proposal.
…He decided to take a break in the hotel since the sun was still up. It would be better to go out once it had become dark and Pale had fallen asleep.
As he sat on a chair with a sigh, Pale, who snuck up to him, stretched out something to his chin.
“Tired?”
“A bit.”
“Drink this.”
As she said that, she held out a drink in a glass bottle.
“What is… this?”
“Hmm? If you drink this, your fatigue should go away.”
“…”
It had a wrapper with the name ‘Bacchus*’. The words were neither Chinese nor Mongolian. He was certain that the text was Korean.(*: A South Korean energy drink aka Bacchus F and Bacchus D.)
Why were there Korean products in the supermarket?
“The name seemed similar to Lukas’, so I bought it!” (*: 루카스- Lukas 박카스 – Bacchus. Although the author censored bacchus(박○스) for some reason)
“…ah. Right. I’m so grateful I could cry.”
“Hehe. No sweat.”
Pale raised her thumb with a triumphant expression.
* * *
In an underground building in Manjuri City.
In a place where hundreds of monitors covered the walls, Gentleman began to report.
“Confirmed. A total of five individuals.”
Gentleman’s eyes busily moved back and forth across the screens.
“The middle aged Swordsman who destroyed the Infernal Heaven, a dark blonde man, a blue haired woman, a red skinned girl, and the Heavenly Demon. The Heavenly Demon probably chose to follow them after losing to the Swordsman.”
There was no response from the radio, but Gentleman continued his report as if he was used to it.
“Their current place of residence is unknown. But we will learn it soon. Please understand why the confirmation is delayed. If we try to check with our naked eyes, our traces might be found.”
Gentleman glanced at his missing left arm. The martial prowess displayed by Yang In-hyun had reached a level so high that he couldn’t even imagine it.
If his goal hadn’t been to capture him, he probably wouldn’t have been able to escape.
“They probably intend to participate in the general review meeting, but their exact goal is unknown. I will report as soon as the information is updated.”
Then, he was done.
He turned off the radio after speaking briefly.
Burying his back in the chair, Gentleman narrowed his eyes. Then, they widened slightly as his gaze turned to one of the monitors.
He could see a man walking through a dark alley like fog.
…Heavenly Demon.
He seemed quite confident in his covert actions, but he failed to notice the Great Galactic Alliance’s ultra small cameras.
‘Should I deal with him?’
Gentleman narrowed his eyes before eventually shaking his head.
The Heavenly Demon’s value to the group was probably not high. His goal was likely that of a guide.
The same was true for the red skinned girl.
The girl was their latest addition. She hadn’t been with them when they left ‘Kazan’. Then, that naturally left one person.
The woman with blue hair.
It seemed that the two unordinary men treated the woman with great care. It seemed that her weight in the party was different from that of the Heavenly Demon and the red skinned girl.
“…kidnapping and threatening a weak woman goes against my aesthetic, but…”
It couldn’t be helped.
Before being a gentleman, he was a member of VIP.
(TL:…RIP)
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