Chapter 609 (1/2)

Fran and Urushi start to run once again, chasing after the Pseudo Fanatic Sword that slipped past us.

Fran also seemed to be quite eager and fired off some ranged magic at it. The surface of the lake was swirling like a storm due to our attack. And if there were any ships around, they would have capsized.

We had already traveled a great distance. We must have gone very deep into the middle of the lake, which was about the size of a small country.

I wondered where in the world the Pseudo Fanatic Sword was going.

But it was just after I wondered about it.

『Fran! Stop!』

「!!」

Fran reacted immediately to my voice and tried to perform a sudden stop. But she couldn’t just stop instantly, and her heels skidded on the surface of the lake.

The water splashed violently like a fountain.

And despite getting herself drenched, Fran managed to come to a stop.

『Fran, let’s get some more distance for now』

「Nn」

「Woof!」

『Urushi, welcome back』

Both Fran and Urushi must have already noticed. They followed my words and moved back about 30 meters from the spot.

『So this is the place, huh?』

My various detection skills are telling me not to go any further. I couldn’t see anything on the surface of the water. However, there were signs of what seemed like countless magic beasts in the water.

「The Vivian Guardians」

『Yeah, no doubt』

This must be the Guardian’s domain, where the Vivian Guardians would attack if anyone tried to enter.

I didn’t sense any hostility. As I recalled, they would only block our way if we had accidentally entered the area. I guess we were still at that stage.

「But what about that sword? Moreover, will it be fine to pass through this area?」

『Hmmm… Maybe it’s because that sword is an inorganic thing, or maybe it was because that sword doesn’t have a presence… I’ll give it a try』

「You sure?」

『Well, I’ll run right away if it getting dangerous』

「Nn. Be careful」

「Woof」

『Ou!』

I moved slowly toward the area where I could sense the presence of the Vivian Guardian, with Fran and Urushi looking over me.

In normal circumstances, I was sure they’d let a single inorganic sword pass…

However, I soon realized that this attempt would fail.

After all, I could tell that the gazes of the surrounding Vivian Guardians were focused solely on me.

They must have noticed me.

Nevertheless, I broke into the Guardian’s territory with a ray of hope.

Immediately after, a pure white magic beast with a form similar to a squid stood in front of me. Not just one, but five of these guardians used their bodies as walls to block my way.

『Hmm, so they won’t let me pass, huh?』

I tried to block out as much magic as possible for now. It now seemed like I was nothing but a lump of metal, with almost no magic power.

But that didn’t work. I took a detour, but the Vivian Guardian still came in front of me.

『Their detection ability shouldn’t have been that good, though…』

Then how about this.

I activated my dimension shift and tried again. Although I was visible, I was just an inorganic thing and had no signs of life. Right now, I should be in a state similar to that Pseudo Fanatic Sword when it uses its permeability ability―――.

『Go!』

As I’d thought, the Vivian Guardians did not move at all, it seemed that they couldn’t react to an opponent in another space.