LV999 Villager - Volume 3 - Chapter 12.10

Chapter 12, Part 10

So we Have to Keep Moving Forward

「What’s… happening?」

Mary muttered at the incredible scene that was unfolding.

The group had just reached a cliff located to the southeast of the Old Shibuya District. From there, they could only see the devastating reality that was unfolding in front of them.

Leaving aside Mary and Yuki, who seemed to know what was that thing, even Alice and the others, who should never have seen such a thing, looked surprised. That was because what was there looked very familiar.

「What is…… that thing doing in a place like this?」

As Kagami had deduced, the explosions that had been heard had been produced by that thing, which was attacking the Beast’s Fangs•Kemono Kiba-zoku• hiding in the ruined city. No, it was capturing them. The thing was firing a barrage of what seemed to be magic bullets from the holes in its arms, forcing the Beast’s Fangs•Kemono Kiba-zoku• to come out of their hiding places, to then capture them with what seemed to be nets that were shot from their arms.

That being covered by a heavy black armor, which seemed to be at least 5 meters tall, moved forward moving with both legs, and every so often, a strange blue light was expelled from its back moments before it began to move at a speed at which a being of his weight should not move while emitting an intense golden glow.

It looked like the Messiah, the weapon of annihilation that had attacked Salumeria, one of the fortified cities of Earth Clear. Although this dark being did not seem to be as powerful as the Messiah that attacked Salumeria, the fact that there were more than a dozen of these in the place was shocking.

「That thing…… I’m sure I’ve seen it before. But where?」

「It resembles the weapon that Estellar used while manipulating the Demon King-sama…… the Messiah. Seriously, what the heck is that, Kagami-dono?」

Tina and Menou said with tense looks as they remembered the being that once made them fall into deep despair.

「I do not know yet. Is a Digder…… A Digder much more powerful than the magic weapons used by Resistance. It is not as powerful as the Messiah we fight against in Salumeria…… but you can think of that thing as a miniature version of it with similar power」

Said Kagami, who still didn’t quite understand what it was, even after seeing it several times, while showing a heartbroken look. Then, he turned to Mary and said, 「Maybe this girl from Earth knows something more than me 」.

「The Digders are…… ancient weapons. They are really powerful, but the amount of materials required produce them is overwhelming, and due to how difficult gathering materials has become now, they are things that we are unable to reproduce, no matter how hard we try. But…… What are these advanced weapons doing here? They should have been lost a long time ago. No wait, these weapons should have been destroyed by the other Races when it all started. In addition, Beast’s Fangs•Kemono Kiba-zoku• should be strong enough to deal with them, so why……? Yuki!」

Mary explained as she looked at the dozens of Digders that were in front of her, however, unable to bear the discomfort caused by the fact that what she was seeing before her eyes was different from what she thought she knew, she turned to Yuki in an attempt to clear her doubts.

Then, Yuki formed a circle with her index finger and thumb, and began to watch the ancient machines moving back and forth in front of her through it.

「…… Yes, these are definitely old weapons, just like Mary-chan said. But…… they have been improved…… so much that the Beast’s Fangs•Kemono Kiba-zoku•, as they are now, wil be unable to damage them」

「Hey hey wait, how come you know so much about that? It doesn’t seem like you’ve seen it before, but you speak like you’re totally familiar with such things.

Said Kagami, who had already faced these things, as he watched in amazement as Yuki described those things perfectly. After hearing that, Yuki raised her chest proudly while smiling brightly, 「Fu~fun」.

「It’s thanks to me Skill. The reason I’m so good at maintaining magic weapons and Digders although I come from Earth Clear it is thanks to this power that I have」

Skill…… The Power* of Knowledge

Effect …… The User is able to understand the value, use, composition and properties of any article at a glance. It cannot be used on living things.

「…… But」

After explaining her Skill to Kagami, Yuki, with a concerned look on her face, turned back to the ancient machines and began to see them through the circle she formed with her fingers once more.

「That thing…… That weapon is the type of weapon that needs to be controlled manually. In other words, there is someone inside of it, piloting it」

「Can you even know that?」

「Yes, I can know everything. However, its structure is too complex, so it would be impossible for me to reproduce it…… Even if I knew how to do it, we lack both the materials and the necessary equipment to make it. I don’t understand, what are they doing in a place like this? Who are they in the first place? What’s is their purpose?」

Yuki asked confused as she tried to find out more about the ancient weapons.

「They come once a month to retrieve members of the other races while you are in the Underground Facilities. They always come while Resistance it is not around」

「Retrieve? Not eliminate?」

「Let’s continue talking about why it is that the other Races continue to evolve. The other Races are not evolving naturally. They are retrieved and…… improved by them, then they are released again. I have no idea who they are, nor what their purposes are in doing all this 」

Mary, who looked deeply surprised after hearing that, asked.

「How do you know this?」

「I don’t know, I just guess. But, I have the theory that Oboromaru and Pitta evolved that way. At least, I can assume that their evolution was provoked by someone」

At that moment, an idea crossed the mind of Mary, which pursed her lips in frustration at the same time that she remembered the past. When Resistance faced the other races, there were occasions when they ran into groups composed of evolved individuals mixed with groups of non-evolved individuals.

Back then, they had simply believed that this was because not everyone in the group had evolved yet, however, she couldn’t help but think that what was happening in front of her was the true cause of that. To say that someone had evolved, it was necessary for them to go through a remarkable change, however, there were also times when the races suffered from a setback and returned to their original state.

The reason for that was before them.

「Is someone…… guiding the evolution of the other Races?」

Mary, guessing the conclusion Kagami had reached, muttered that, to which he simply replied, 「Maybe」, while nodding slightly.