The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns

Chapter 69

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Chapter 69

There was a high probability that some other factor had intervened.

"I'll go help first."

"Wait."

I placed my hand on the ground once more.

Then, I reactivated the Heart of the Machine God, which had moved just moments ago.

[Heart of the Machine God]

[Resonance]

As if responding to my command, a blue light surged from my fingertips, scattering in all directions before seeping into the earth.

An overwhelming flood of information flashed through my mind, but I was used to this.

At the same time, the usage of my ability drained a massive amount of life force.

However, it wasn’t a fundamental loss of life force, so it wasn’t a serious problem.

A good sleep would be enough to recover.

Most of the burden was borne by the divine power imbued within the Heart of the Machine God.

"Leon, we don't have time for this."

"I know. Just wait a bit. I'm concentrating."

This wasn’t an ability that produced instant results.

Even so, I chose to use it—not out of some reckless desire to test a new power, but for a more crucial reason.

"My lady! There you are!! Please, evacuate at once!!"

Knights of Mielephon, who had been evacuating the villagers, spotted us and rushed over.

"Wait."

Despite this, Isna kept her gaze fixed on me and murmured calmly.

"What are you saying?! If anything happens to you while the Sword Saint is away, it would be the greatest disgrace of all!!"

One of the knights reached out to forcibly pull Isna away.

"Wait, isn’t that Lord Leon?! Lord Leon, you must also evacuate at once!!"

Another knight seemed to recognize me and extended his hand to pull me away from where I knelt with my hand on the ground.

But before he could reach me, his hand was blocked by a small, slender arm that moved with the speed of a flash.

"What the—?! How is she this strong?!"

Luna Basilin Raphaelia, standing only in the 150 cm range with a petite frame, possessed an astonishing level of physical strength.

No matter how much a knight trained his body, he could not possibly overpower the sheer strength Luna wielded, which even surprised me.

"Do not interfere with Leon."

"Are you out of your mind?! Another tidal wave is coming!!"

A smaller wave had already struck, causing damage.

Now, a second, much larger wave was approaching. If nothing was done, it would lead to an incomparably greater catastrophe.

It was only natural for the knights to be frantic.

"Ahh!! Help! Glub!!"

"Save me!!"

Screams echoed from all directions, making the knights' faces grow even more desperate.

One of the knights was about to lash out in frustration.

"It's done. Step back."

I opened my eyes slowly.

[Formula Modification]

[Matter Shape Transformation]

The Heart of the Machine God pulsed violently, causing the life force it had absorbed from me to tremble and surge.

Then—

A blue light spread rapidly across the entire area.

The power of the Heart of the Machine God was simple: analysis, memory, and transformation of information.

It was like converting a one-kilogram lump of iron into a one-kilogram sword.

Except, it omitted the smelting process, the quenching, and even the hammering.

For a mere expenditure of life force, it achieved an enormous transformation—something only possible due to the transcendental power of divinity.

Rumble—!!!

The ground along the coastline began to rise as if it were alive, forming an enormous wall.

At the same time, channels were created beside the seawall, redirecting the surging ocean waters elsewhere.

"W-what is that?!"

"What the—?!"

As a deafening roar echoed, enormous sculpted hands rose all over the village.

And on top of those hands—

Were the people who had been swept away by the tide.

"Puha!! I-I'm alive!"

"Huff... Huff... What is this...?"

Some were unconscious, but those still aware wore expressions of bewilderment as they took in their surroundings.

The entire village landscape had changed in a bizarre way.

Even as a 6th-circle mage, I wouldn’t have been able to rescue everyone so thoroughly in such a short amount of time using ordinary magic.

To most mages, this phenomenon was incomprehensible.

Realizing that all of this had been caused by a single person, most of the villagers turned toward the origin of the glowing light—me.

"My god… What kind of magic is this…?"

The dispatched mages were utterly shocked, unable to sense any flow of mana.

The others seemed overwhelmed by the sheer power that had reshaped the entire village.

"What in the world…"

Even the knight who had tried to drag me away was at a loss for words.

"Leon, this is divine power. A high-level one at that."

Luna, staring at me with a firm expression, asked,

"The origin is unknown, but it's definitely imitating divine power, right?"

After all, the Heart of the Machine God was crafted using the core of an ancient monster that radiated divine power.

"The Fruit of Adam…"

She murmured something under her breath.

The Fruit of Adam?

Now that I thought about it, Luna had always been particularly interested in the primordial myth of Adam and Eve.

More importantly, the people who had been rescued couldn't take their eyes off me.

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I met their gazes head-on with confidence.

What?

What are you staring at?

* * *

To be honest, I had no intention of joining Mielephon’s subjugation force.

I wanted to eliminate any unnecessary interference in killing the Kraken.

However, with the situation as it was, there was no avoiding some degree of involvement.

Even though countless people were looking at me with confusion, curiosity, and awe, no one dared approach.

Because before they could, someone else had already stepped forward.

"Leon, you…"

I gave a wry smile as I looked at the Sword Saint Osberg, whose armor was stained with blood, as if he had just come from a battle.

"We meet again here, sir."

"How did you end up here… Isna, was this your doing?"

"Hehehe."

"Sigh. Every time I take my eyes off you, you cause trouble…"

Even though she was his beloved granddaughter, it seemed he still wasn’t used to her eccentric ways, judging by his exhausted expression.

But there was no time for rest.

Without delay, he led us to a temporary barracks set up to deal with the aftermath of the tidal wave.

At the same time, the knights who had been waiting there began to report to him.

"Sir, we have finished assessing the wounded and casualties. Fortunately, there were no deaths. If it weren’t for the efforts of Lord Leon, the number of casualties would have been catastrophic."

"That’s a relief to hear. But Leon, what kind of power was that? Every time I see you, you seem to show a new ability."

"Leon has quite a few tricks up his sleeve."

Hey, why do you sound so proud about that?

"If it weren’t for those damned bastards’ trap…"

Hearing his anger, I asked,

"A trap? What happened?"

"Ahem, it’s nothing. More importantly, this place is dangerous. The Kraken is far more ferocious than expected. I know you're strong, but this is a trial far beyond what you should handle."

He didn’t seem inclined to explain further.

Well, Mielephon must have its own internal matters.

Regardless of whether the Sword Saint tried to stop me or not, I was determined to hunt the Kraken.

"Forgive me, sir, but I cannot back down from this matter."

"Do you even understand how dangerous a Kraken is?"

"Yes. I can confidently say that there aren’t many who know more about it than I do."

After getting a rough idea of Mielephon’s forces, I had a plan in mind.

Lure the Kraken out, have the others distract it and divide its attention, and then have the Sword Saint, with his overwhelming strength, strike it down.

It was the cleanest and most viable method.

My response was hard to believe, but it seemed the Sword Saint thought differently.

[Currently, the subject is under the impression that you have conducted independent, long-term research on the Kraken. Realistically, no human could have fought and defeated as many Krakens as you have.]

Wait, why does it sound like you are proud of me too, just like Luna?

As I stared blankly at the scholar's text, Osberg let out a deep sigh.

"…The problem is, the Kraken is not the only threat."

"I was thinking the same thing. This tidal wave was oddly well-timed and calculated, even for a Kraken."

A Kraken is a living disaster, but it is not a strategist.

"It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that something else has been influencing its actions."

At my question, he pondered for a moment before giving a small nod.

"You've figured out this much… Clearly, you haven’t just picked up superficial knowledge. Leon, do you know about the Necromancer Cult?"

"Ah."

No wonder.

Those bastards have been unusually quiet lately.

"Actually, no… You've likely encountered them before."

"Have they appeared here?"

"I only managed to catch their tail. I wiped them all out, but they’re like leeches—persistent. It’s clear they are scheming something."

So while the tidal wave was approaching, he was busy hunting down cultists.

As if dealing with the Kraken wasn’t bad enough, now the Cult was involved.

No wonder he looked exhausted.

"Mielephon can’t back down either. It seems someone has already been exposed to the Kraken’s mind attacks."

"How do you know that?"

He looked at me with widened eyes, clearly startled.

"Even a weakened Kraken’s mental erosion can destroy a person in an instant. I don’t know why its attacks have weakened, but if we miss this opportunity—"

I trailed off and stared straight at Isna Mielephon.

"Um, why are you looking at me like that?"

"We have to protect her, don’t we?"

It was obvious.

They could try to hide it, but there was no way I wouldn’t notice.

At my words, Isna’s face twisted into a scowl, while Osberg stared at me in a daze.

"What are you talking about?"

"I already know. Lady Isna has been exposed to the Kraken’s mental attacks, hasn’t she? I don’t know how it happened, but—"

"Wait a minute!!"

Even for someone as eccentric as her, hearing this outright must have been infuriating.

But I was certain.

No one could act like that without being affected by some form of mental attack.

Logically speaking.

However, what followed was silence.

"……"

"……"

Even Luna averted her gaze.

"…Wait, am I wrong?"

"Leon, I’ll admit that Isna has a… peculiar personality… No, a unique preference."

Wait.

So she was always like this?

I turned to Isna in disbelief, only to find her looking at me with a face full of dissatisfaction.

"My lord."

"……"

"Hey."

As I stood there, too stunned to speak, she called out to me again.

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