Chapter 977 Guiding Light
After hearing his response, I find myself increasingly compelled to press him for an explanation regarding his awareness of how I succeeded in returning to the past.
"Old man, I'm perplexed about how you came by that particular piece of information. I must insist on understanding the source of your knowledge. As far as I'm aware, only Nobuhiko and I are privy to the fact that I've returned."
"Why, though? What prompts me to disclose such information to you? Do you have any intention of rewarding me for divulging the details of how I came to know? I highly doubt it. Therefore, there seems to be no incentive for me to provide you with any answer that would satisfy your curiosity. Moreover, what purpose would this information serve once you possess it? Nothing, I presume."
I heard him chuckle under his hood. If not for the fact that his entire face is obscured by that oversized hoodie, I might catch a glimpse of his smirking expression. Due to this, all I can discern is a looming shadow over his visage.
Still, his argument is valid, and I lack any rebuttal to his answer. What he said holds true. I won't derive any practical use from the information once I acquire it; only my curiosity will be satisfied.
"Considering the work you've undertaken, your journey is far from over, young man. I doubt you'll be halting your pursuits anytime soon," he remarked in a low tone.
"I don't mind. I am willing to see it through to the very end, even if it takes longer than it should," I sighed.
"Is that so? Well, that means you're ready for the troubles that will come your way. Now that you're actively working against the Goddess of Life, I doubt she'll be letting you off easily."
"Heh, she's already using her pawns to try and deal with us left and right, which is annoying as hell, but we've still managed. She won't be able to take us down, even if she wanted to."
The hooded man chuckled. "Good. Don't let her have her way. She already got what she wanted before; giving her more would just spoil her. Keep at it."
Before I could utter another word, my body felt sluggish, and my consciousness seemed to grow heavier once again.
"I see. Your time here has finally run its course. Not to worry; you will return, but it might be a while before you find yourself back in this realm."
"Uh..."
"Until then, this weapon will take its time to be forged. Perhaps by the time you receive the final piece to complete the Versatile Weapon, you'll find your way back here."
I desired to continue the conversation, to probe him with more questions, but the weight in my eyes hindered me.
"Good night, young man. We'll meet again in due time."
Before I could articulate a response, my consciousness faded.
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I gradually opened my eyes once more, finding myself back in the Alternate World, within the confines of my room. Despite my sojourn into dreamland, instead of feeling refreshed, fatigue lingered. And the feeling is frustrating.
Fortunately, I think I have returned with the knowledge to that place. That man, the hooded man...the secrets surrounding him are too big. He knows me and anything surrounding me. And the fact that he was also part of the reason why the Versatile Weapon has existed, just made me want to know his main role here. His role should have ended the moment the Versatile Weapon came to conception but now that he is back and he is more alive than I thought he should be... just what was his new role this time around?
And that weapon he was forging...he said that the moment I get to get the final piece to complete the Versatile Weapon, that weapon will also be completed. Just what was it? Is it another weapon? I don't know and even if I have the answer to that question, I don't think it is the right answer.
But as much as I want to know the answer, I don't have any concrete answer.
I stood up from my bed and stared outside the window. I was just going to see whether the weather has returned to normal but what I saw is a very big light piercing through the air and through the buildings. It is coming from this mansion and it is the same feeling I saw when I found the Tree of Life's branch.
"Did they succeed this time around?"
Going out of my room, I saw the light that I witnessed outside the window and it was the same light. It came out where the elves should be staying right now.
Outside, the others are also there as well and they are observing the light as well. They were also there dying to know what was going on in the room where the elves were.
"What is happening now," I approached Riko and Rika who were discussing while watching the light.
"Oh, you are awake now, Manato. Look, it seems the things that the elves are doing seem to be a success. It seems they are now able to make the branch give out its light and connect it to its owner," Riko said as she pointed out the light that pierces through concrete.
At that moment, the light went out and disappeared before the door from the elves' room opened up.
"It's finally a success!" Renatta happily said as she reported the results to us.
"Was that light we saw outside part of it?" I asked.
"Yes. It is the guiding light that will allow us to connect and find the location of the owner of the Tree of Life's branch. It took some time but it was easy enough after a few calculations here and there before we managed to make it properly work. But it took some time and brain power to fully make sure it won't deny us on our work," Alena fully explained.
I looked inside the room and the rest of the elves were lying on the floor with their chests, huffing and puffing, seemingly out of breath.
"You guys seem to be very exhausted," I commented.
"Yeah, that thing was crazy. I didn't expect we have to expend a lot of energy just to let that power appear," Renatta sighed.
"Still, won't this be a big problem?" Rika interjected.
"What problem?" Renatta turned to look at Rika.
"That light...if that light connects to King Arthur, that must mean he also noticed it and he knows that something is currently connecting his location right now. If that is the case, he might be already fleeing right now."
Rika has a good point. The fact that it was so eye-catching is enough to lead the one we are searching for to know that he was being tracked. Then it will start a game of cat and mouse as a result.
"Ahhh...don't worry about it. We already made sure that it will not be discovered by the target himself. And also, the light will not be visible to anyone else other than the people who are near the source, meaning, only those who are inside and in the yard of the mansion can see the light emitted by the branch. We wouldn't try to make a mistake of that happening and let that guy escape from our grasp."
"Ooh, so you guys already have a contingency in case of things that might happen," Rika was impressed.
"Yes. After hearing and learning about that guy, we know not to take him lightly. He is an incredible human and the fact that he needed to be killed by a specialized weapon back then just to end his life is already enough for us to know why he is more dangerous than we should have known. And the fact that he managed to return back from the dead means that he has some means to return back to life. We can't just do a sloppy job at tracking him down."
As we discussed those things, Almira appeared behind us.
"So the light earlier was the key to finding that slippery b*stard. Is it ready?" Almira asked.
"We have already got a way to make the light reappear again but we will have to recharge our energy reserves first after most of it is drained earlier."
"I see. Then you guys should have some rest first. Let me know if you guys are ready to go cause now that we have a way to know his location, we should move out as soon as possible without any delay."
After saying those words, Almira returned to where she came from, leaving us back there again.
"So Almira-san is also set in stone to kill that guy as well..." Renatta nodded after seeing the back of the leaving Almira.
I smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Perhaps she felt that she needed to end this once and for all after finding out that the one she was destined to kill in the first place was still alive and survived his supposed death. For her, the job is not yet done."
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