Chapter 18: [Hazard] - (22 Years Before the Original) Rapture Hunting: Core Extraction Labor 3

At first, I thought she was just a being that surpassed common sense.

"...Superhuman... you... what are you..."

"Why?"

"You..! Just what in the world..."

"Ah, come on. What’s wrong? Ah-ha? You don’t understand the situation right now?"

"......"

I had met my past self again, and with that, recovered some of my knowledge.

Even so, a fear that transcended understanding began to eat away at my mind, far more potent than any fear I could still categorize.

The Heretic, a creature that inspired a suffocating terror, had been torn apart.

It was the fear of the unknown itself, something that existed far beyond the boundaries of comprehension.

The act the superhuman—Hook—had committed so casually, despite being a mere human, was enough to make one's mind detach from their body.

A body heavy as a boulder.

Destructive power that was impossible to believe, even when witnessed with my own eyes.

He wasn’t using a firearm.

Nor was he using some specially crafted melee weapon.

Just a plain-looking, dark red gauntlet.

And those mysterious 'forms' that manifested every time he swung his fist.

Now, Hook was starting to seem even more terrifying than the Heretic.

"......."

"......That kind of hurts my feelings."

"Look back on what you just did. You... you are..!"

"You’re seriously surprised because I beat the hell out of a Heretic with my bare hands?"

A Tyrant Rapture is different.

Even a Tyrant Rapture, by human standards or those of a NIKKE, is a disaster-class Rapture.

Not only are they unimaginably huge, but their forms are wildly varied.

Many of them are equipped with over-technology that defies reason.

But Hook is not a Rapture.

Raptures are machines; Hook is a living being.

For a living being to wield a 'power of the unknown' that surpasses even the capabilities of machines?

It was no different from the delusions of power found in the 'novels' I had read in the past, based on a fragmented understanding of such things.

I looked at Hook—

The superhuman—

"I’m scared. Honestly, I’m terrified now."

"Hmm. Well, I do appreciate the honesty... but that still stings a little."

".....Haa."

He said he’d lost his memories.

But every now and then, I found myself wondering if that was actually true.

His actions were too 'familiar,' as if he were making survival-optimized decisions by instinct.

He responded to the surrounding Raptures with absolute certainty and precision.

Almost like a machine.

At first, I brushed it off. Hook never pried into my past, and he treated me with respect.

But after witnessing this scene, I realized.

"Superhuman—no, Hook. I’m going to ask you this sincerely."

Had a being capable of wielding such a bizarre, category-defying 'unknown fear' only just appeared now?

And had he truly 'lost his memories'?

"Did you really lose your memories? Or are you just pretending you did?"

I felt sorry for questioning him, but I gathered my courage and asked, prepared for the disappointment.

=============

I couldn’t immediately answer Grave’s question.

She’s suspicious.

Anyone would be. Who would have guessed I’d actually beat down a Heretic?

At first, I too felt that same crushing pressure and suffocation the moment Librelio appeared.

The sheer 'strength' I felt the instant we faced each other.

And yet, the thought in my head was, strangely enough, completely detached from the atmosphere or the sensation.

I’ll win.

Librelio’s strength was enough to choke the breath out of me.

Even without fighting, the killing intent she radiated and that cold aura reminiscent of the deep sea were enough to terrify anyone.

And yet, I felt that if we fought, I would prevail.

No, I was certain I would win.

Even so, I squeezed every possible resource I had.

The result was that I branded her with a Soul Mark, launched a surprise attack, and secretly deployed a binding spell.

I forced her to move incrementally by manipulating tentacles, and I tore apart the ones she fired back with [Demon Slash].

For the next attack, I considered [Torrential Fist] or even a Hyper Skill, just in case.

But she moved more simply than I expected.

Underestimating humans and viewing us as inferior beings—that was your fatal mistake.

The binding spell landed perfectly, completely restraining Librelio’s body, which had already grown to nearly half-giant size.

Then, I used [True Demon Slash], strengthened by the fifth advancement, to shred the immobilized Librelio into pieces.

From Grave’s perspective, as someone who had survived every kind of hell, I probably looked more like a monster than the Heretic did.

That was why she could only look at me now with eyes stained by suspicion and fear.

"......You’ll be disappointed."

"......"

I knew I shouldn’t leave room for doubt, but I still hesitated.

It was true that I had lied about losing my memories, but the pity I felt when I first met Grave, and the history between her and Cinderella...

Since I knew the events before and after the 'Red Ash' story—the first anniversary event in the original—I felt a deep sense of compassion.

"Saying I... lost my memories was a lie. That part is true."

"........"

"Any excuse I make would still be a sin."

"......."

"I’m sorry. In the end, I repaid the trust of someone who believed in me to the very end, even while doubting me, with a lie."

It was impossible to hide any longer.

I could see the distrust and fear in her eyes. I knew that for someone who already felt disgust toward humans, discovering that the person who had lived with her and helped her for two years had lied was a cruel blow.

"If you tell me to leave, I will. But please let me at least retrieve the Heretic core—the only clue that can wake Cinderella."

I couldn’t tell what condition Librelio was in through the swirling dust.

But my opponent was a Heretic, one of the Queen’s vanguard and among the greatest threats to humanity.

I had to finish this decisively.

In the original, Indivilia’s core survived to the very end and became Material H.

That was why I had to stop the core itself completely.

Because a Heretic’s core is, in effect, the Heretic itself.

I had to deal devastating damage to the core and 'kill' it so it could never revive again.

Not just breaking the core, but killing it.

That would be the only way to repair Cinderella’s deteriorated core.

I turned around and quietly took my stance.

And then—

Rumble!

The ground shook.

The pressure intensified across my entire body, and an overwhelming killing intent was fired straight at me.

Crash!

Along with the sound of the earth being torn asunder, what emerged was—

A Rapture shaped like a purple jellyfish, the size of a giant battleship straight out of a movie.

This was the gigantic transformation believed to be Librelio’s true form, a subject of much controversy in the early days.

Unlike her NIKKE form, her countless tentacles had merged into four enormous cannon barrels.

The grotesque lower half, modeled after a human exoskeleton, inspired pure dread.

In the area presumed to be the jellyfish’s bell, massive energy shields and various light projectiles were concentrated.

A bizarre jellyfish-shaped bombardment battleship that evoked both the terror of the deep sea and cosmic horror.

That was Librelio’s true identity.

{ ...Underestimating you as some worthless human was my mistake. }

An alien voice, laced with mechanical noise, rang out.

{ Human, from this moment on, I designate you as a top-priority target for both the Raptures and us Heretics. }

The railgun barrels mounted on the four legs aimed directly at me.

The countless projectiles hidden in the bell locked onto my position.

To any observer, I was on the verge of being reduced to dust.

Even so—

{ But this is my final mercy. Surrender now and join us. }

Librelio was attempting to forcibly recruit me.