Chapter 10: Furry Land (2)
Magic.
The act of wielding surreal power through mana.
In the past, some scholars had argued.
That the magics of this world were powers that came from a realm called the ‘magic realm’.
Just as an angel’s prayer of recovery was a power that came from the heavenly realm, the realm of Yahweh.
And just as a rakshasa’s combat martial art was a power that came from the Buddhist realm, the realm of Buddha.
They claimed that magic, too, must be a power that came from another realm.
They said that when an outer-space whale fell into the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a gigantic tidal wave covered the entire globe.
And that this weakened the gap between the material realm and the magic realm, allowing magic to appear.
‘No.’
No matter the realm, there existed powers that functioned only within that world.
And the act of borrowing such power was called a ‘miracle’.
But magic was not a power summoned from another realm.
Magic was the inherent power of our world itself, the miracle possessed by our realm.
‘The mana density in the air here is too low.’
The lounge of Furry Land was not an environment well-suited for using magic.
I gulped down a supplement labeled ‘Super Mana Soda, 150ml’.
An expensive drink that cost over one hundred thousand Qubits per can, and this was already my third.
While Kali dodged White Bear’s attacks this way and that, I began densely engraving magic formulas throughout this vast space.
To face an Demi-god that only appeared in legends, ordinary magic would not even come close.
By the time the explosions of the grenades that Jo and Zal fired rang out, the formula was nearly complete.
〈Ar.〉
〈Running simulation. Result, probability of success 99.9999%〉
〈What about the rest.〉
〈That is what is called fate.〉
I wondered where it had learned to say things like that.
As I was thinking that, White Bear charged straight toward me.
“Go on, try waking this body up!”
Each time its four feet touched the ground, the entire building shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Just in case, the cold-type binding spell I had laid down activated, but it was completely useless.
‘It almost feels faster.’
To restrain its movement, cold air froze between the black bear’s claws.
But every time White Bear moved its massive legs, the ice that held it shattered into pieces like broken crackers.
“You’ll have to do better than that!”
A tone that sounded as if it were enjoying itself.
In response, without wavering, I put the final period on the magic I had prepared.
Then, crackle—sparks that had been popping softly gradually turned into a massive vortex.
“Oho…….”
A dense electric field formed by mana spread across the entire enormous lounge.
An ‘Electric Field’ was deployed.
The charging Demi-god’s steps slowed slightly under the spell.
But this alone was laughably insufficient.
〈Ar, now.〉
〈Activating.〉
At my signal, the Electrosphere Spirit Guide activated the tertiary backup generator that had been hacked in advance.
The generator immediately began spinning violently, to the point of overload.
Soon, an immense amount of power—enough to sustain this entire massive facility—poured into the Electric Field I had created.
[Do not move a single muscle.]
I warned my teammates through a closed channel.
“Unbelievable…….”
From a safe distance, Kali, who was observing the situation, let out a small exclamation of awe.
Along with that, White Bear’s enormous body, which seemed like it would never stop, came to a rigid halt.
“Hm……. This is…….”
Urmus sniffed the air with his black nose and continued.
“It looks a bit dangerous.”
Ultra-high-voltage currents brushed through the air with a rumbling sound.
Was this what it felt like to face a dragon made of electricity?
If an ordinary person were hit by that, not even a trace of their form would remain.
Even so, White Bear cautiously tried to take a single step forward.
At that moment, the current suspended in the air flashed with a loud cracking sound and struck down onto its foot.
“Uahahaha! This stings a bit! I almost woke up there!”
Now it was time to finish the job.
The reason a mage was needed for this task.
And the reason we specifically needed a spellcaster capable of projecting attack spells was to wake that Demi-god, White Bear, from its sleep.
‘You’re telling me that thing is asleep right now.’
To fully wake White Bear from its slumber, I had to give it a ‘slight’ shock with magic.
Those who had reached the realm of an Demi-god, on par with gods, must even have extraordinary sleeping habits.
“It’s about time for you to wake up.”
“Hehehe. Very well, go on and try to wake me.”
In this vast lounge, the only living being capable of movement.
I carefully raised my hand.
A great stellar body of the electric lineage that I could not possibly touch under normal circumstances.
Mana plasma, something that could only be encountered in the upper atmosphere of that place, gathered in my grasp.
‘Gigantic Jet.’
It was a spell the original me would never have dared to attempt, but with the help of a mechanical device called a generator, I was able to complete it.
‘This is tremendous power.’
From the spear-like magic extending far outward, a deafening roar erupted, as if a thousand drones were taking flight simultaneously.
The vibration from that noise alone made my entire body tremble.
“Oh……. That spell is…….”
White Bear let out a faint exclamation as it looked at the magic held in my grasp.
‘At this level, it almost feels like I could kill that Demi-god.’
That was how high-powered the magic was.
I stepped forward with one foot and prepared to project the spear of lightning.
“It’s time for your alarm, Elder White Bear.”
With that short line, an Demi-god-exclusive alarm was fired toward him.
The magic, flying at a speed comparable to sound, headed straight for the center of White Bear’s forehead.
Kwaaaaaa……!
Light poured forth.
Light so intense that I would have been blinded if I had faced it directly.
Along with it came a blackout.
Not only the Furry Land building, but all the electricity in the surrounding area went out.
But after a short while, the lights flickered back on.
I lifted my eyes and looked at the target I had aimed at.
With the thought that maybe, just maybe, I had actually brought that monster down.
But.
“So, a guest did come.”
The being called an Demi-god was not such an easy opponent.
As the thickly settled dust cleared, the figure of White Bear Urmus came into view.
Awakened from sleep, he had already shrunk to about the size of an ordinary polar bear beastman.
Contrary to my expectations, his naked body—completely unclothed—did not bear a single scratch.
“Lord Urmus!”
As the Ice Barrier collapsed, armed guards poured in from outside.
Some of them brought black suits to the naked White Bear, while others aimed their gun barrels at the Ghostcatchers.
“Whoa…….”
But when White Bear waved his hand casually through the air while getting dressed, the gun barrels all lowered at once.
“They woke me by legitimate means. So stand down.”
At the Demi-god’s words, the guards withdrew without a shred of doubt.
Urums then fastened the cuff buttons of his suit and approached me.
“But that magic earlier. It felt like there was a bit of killing intent mixed in. I must have imagined it in my sleep, right?”
I was inwardly startled, but replied calmly.
“There’s no way. I neither had such intent, nor is that even possible.”
“No. I almost died just now. Hahaha!”
His hearty laughter echoed through the lounge.
Almost died.
That was impossible.
Just before my magic reached White Bear, in that fleeting instant, I had felt a fraction of the Demi-god’s power.
‘That light just now…….’
The tremendous light that had burst out just before my electric magic struck the Demi-god directly.
It had not come from my spell.
It was light emitted as White Bear’s ‘breath’ canceled out the magic.
“What is your name?”
White Bear Urmus stared straight at me as he asked.
“Diesel.”
“Hm……. I’ll remember it.”
Was it really a good thing for a being of Demi-god rank to remember my name?
Having finished changing, White Bear looked around and asked,
“I’m a bit thirsty.”
At his words, Kali, who had already stepped up beside the Demi-god, opened the refrigerated trunk attached to the inside of her thigh.
What she took out was a pitch-black bottled drink.
The moment White Bear saw it, he spoke with great delight.
“Oh! Isn’t that my favorite refreshing beverage, cola!”
He deftly popped the bottle cap off with his paw and gulped down the jet-black carbonation.
“Kah! This taste never changes!”
‘I’ve seen this scene somewhere before…….’
After emptying the bottle in an instant, Urmus asked,
“So, what business did you have waking me?”
Only then did Kali get to the point.
“Your granddaughter has given birth.”
“What did you say?”
The bear roared.
He flailed his large hands about, then asked again,
“What happened to my granddaughter?”
“She gave birth to a lovely daughter.”
Kali projected a hologram into the air.
In it, a cute polar bear beastman baby was wriggling its hands.
“My goodness…….”
“She is waiting for you to give her a name.”
White Bear stared at the hologram for a long while as if he could not believe it, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“What joyous news it has been!”
Then he pulled me, Kali, and Jo and Zal—who had just arrived—into a crushing hug.
“Urk, sir……. I can’t breathe…….”
“S-So soft.”
“It really is soft.”
From the violent embrace, all of the beastman disguises the Ghostcatchers were wearing came off.
“Now then. I knew long ago that you weren’t beastmen, but what relation do you have to my granddaughter?”
“We are merely agents.”
“Then the Ghostcatchers must be the agents.”
“That is correct.”
After the brief exchange with Kali, White Bear snapped his fingers and said,
“You’ve brought me such happy news, so I should give you a fitting reward.”
At the Demi-god’s command, polar fox beastmen dressed in suits moved in perfect unison.
The attendants approached the Ghostcatchers and handed them something.
“Ten million Qubits each. And Diesel, for you, in addition to that…….”
White Bear gestured to another attendant waiting behind him and continued,
“Yes. I wish to reward you personally, so come along.”
At his words, I glanced toward Kali.
She tilted her forehead to the side, urging me to go quickly.
[We’ll head back first, so let’s meet later at the dumpling shop.]
I nodded to show my understanding and followed after White Bear, who had already set off ahead.
In Furry Land, White Bear was a being akin to an absolute sovereign.
That was likely why, even with the grave matter of his granddaughter’s childbirth, the staff of Furry Land had been unable to wake him directly.
White Bear must have entered a long slumber after issuing an order not to wake him, and the staff who received that order would have had to obey it absolutely, no matter the exception.
When he said earlier that we had ‘woken him by legitimate means’, it seemed like a special rule created precisely because he understood the nature of those who served him.
‘Even so, that was an incredibly crude method.’
It was a rule that could only exist if one had absolute confidence in one’s own strength, completely excluding possibilities like assassination attempts.
“I would like to recover my vigor and cross blades with you again.”
As we passed through the dark tunnel of the abyssal earth district, White Bear tossed out a chilling remark.
He had faced me in a half-asleep state after sleeping for over ten years, and even then he had been that formidable. I could not even imagine how much power this Demi-god would wield once he fully recovered.
“My heart raced as if I had met an old friend.”
“By ‘old friend’, you mean……?”
At my question, White Bear asked back with a puzzled expression.
“Huh, did your father not tell you about me? Or perhaps your grandfather.”
What was he talking about?
I pondered deeply over what White Bear could mean.
Then a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
‘Could it be…….’
The name that followed from the Demi-god’s mouth was exactly as I had guessed.
“Lee Hamin, the commander. I don’t know if he’s your father or your grandfather, mind you.”