Chapter 116 – Ruphas Used Solar Beam

Chapter 116 – Ruphas Used Solar Beam[1]

Raw link: http://ncode.syosetu.com/n2211cx/117/ (2016/09/19)

Translator: twomorefreethoughts / TpstT (2019/10/27)

Editor 1: Hand of Vecna (2019/10/28)

Editor 2: Keii (2019/10/29)

Translation link: https://twomorefreethoughts.wordpress.com/awlba-c116/ 

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Notice 1: An update on the releases. Due to my exams, similar to last time, I will be handing the baton over to Vecna early. From chapter 117 to 126, Vecna will serve as the main translator. I will then come back for chapter 127 to 140 before we revert back to the usual rotation.

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“Pl, please, we plead you to wait, Ruphas-dono! Is Your Honour suggesting that you will shelter these people!?”

“Ab, absolutely not! That must not happen! We plead that these people’s sentences be left to Draupnir!” 

After I heard the elf nii-san and the cat beastkin raise their voices at the same time, I turned to look towards them.

What were their names again….? I feel like I’ve heard them say it but… I’ve kind of forgotten them.

Umm… that’s right, if I recall correctly, their names are Cruz and Kaineko. I just confirmed it.

[Observation Eyes] was able to see it if there was an assigned name, therefore, it was actually quite a convenient skill.

Although… in the case where the individual had more than two names and I was aware of all of them, the one that I recognised them as would be the one that would be displayed, thus what was displayed was not necessarily perfect.

For example, Dina fit into this category. Although she was called Dina, she also had the name known as Venus.

However, even if I were to use Observation Eyes on her, the only name that would be displayed would be Dina.

That was likely to be the case because I previously recognised her name to be Dina.

Anyways, none of that is relevant right now.

“Leave everything to Draupnir, huh…. What you’re saying is you want me to allow you to execute all of these people who had lost the will to fight without a second opinion? How dark. Would you not be satisfied unless you massacre them?”

“I’m not pleading purely based on what I want. Since they were the one who had mounted the attack first, we require evidence to show that they had, in fact, been subjugated. After being attacked, if we did not retaliate at all, Draupnir as a kingdom would be looked down upon. Even assuming we let them go or they got away, things won’t just end there… without a doubt, an army would be dispatched to go out and find the demihumans.”

I looked down at the cat beastkin, right into his circular eyes as he was looking up.

I felt that what he had said did make some sense.

But above and beyond that, I want to scratch around his chin.

No, well… I understand that they’re trying to have a serious conversation… but just look at it. It’s a cat that’s standing up and walking around on two feet.

I think you’ll get it if you’re a cat lover but, you know, my hand is just tingling. I just really want to pet its fluff.

“I get what you’re trying to say. So you are saying that you’re not actually trying to bring the law into your own hands.”

“That is exactly so.”

“What about the others? Is there anyone that just really wants to kill the demihumans?”

I turned towards the young boy Sei and the others and asked that question. Nevertheless, no one answered in the affirmative.

The only exception to this was Scorpius who stood up in response, but I was not asking her.

Sit back down.

Why is it that you’re so bloodthirsty?

“In that case, you just need the ‘fact’ that these people were massacred, right?”

“Eh? Well… I suppose…?”

“Then there’s no problem. I’ve already thought through that much. …. Dina.”

What Kaineko said made sense.

Since they had suffered an event that was pretty close to a declaration of war, if they were to do nothing about it, it would be a problem for the prestige of the kingdom. Furthermore, its citizens would not be able to live peacefully.

After all, putting things in “Earth” terms, it was no different from a warship being shot at with something like a missile, which was essentially no different from a declaration of war, yet the country decided to do nothing about it and forgive the offender.

……….. Although… if it was Japan, they might regrettably do just that and let everything slide.

Anyways, whatever. The problem is that it’s not going to stop at just Draupnir. By now, the other kingdoms would probably be preparing for war too.

The particularly scary one is Mjolnir. There’s a possibility of them invading now that they might have found out Leon’s out of commission.

Then I guess, the easiest way is to just make it so that all of the demihumans are dead.

Therefore, I decided to order Dina to first teleport away all of the villages.

“Understood. X-Gate!”

Dina opened her arms wide and teleported the whole forest somewhere.

The reason that I did not specify the destination was simple. It was because Dina knew about the geography of this world more than I did.

I only knew about the locations we had visited thus far. However, Dina knew about quite a lot of different places.

As such, leaving it up to her discretion was less likely to result in the villages being sent to some weird location.

After the forest was swallowed by a crack in space-time, the demihumans who could not comprehend what was happening were left behind.

After all, from their point of view, they must have been sick and tired of everything after they were suddenly caught up in a monster war and the disappearance of the forest even though they had just been living as usual.

“Next…. The four demihumans there and Sagittarius. I’m sorry, but go and explain what’s going on to the rest of the demihumans.”

I snapped my fingers and undid the restraints on the demihumans.

I heard Jean saying to evacuate, but there weren’t really any problems in releasing their restraints.

Although it sounded bad, even if they were to decide to do something, they were not in a position where they were able to do anything to us. Even if they decided to target the likes of Virgo or Sei, who were the weaker members amongst us, I would be able to step in before anything happened.

If they wanted to be able to outspeed me, they would have to at least have the ability to operate in the millisecond world.

As long as they lived in the world where time flowed as normal, whatever they decided to do, it was impossible for them to take the initiative away from those like me, Benetnash or the Demon King who lived in a world where our perception of time was a few stages beyond them.

Having said that, it was all unwarranted anxiety.

Under the current circumstances, the demihumans had already sensed that it was the only option they could choose and decided to start explaining the situation to the others.

I did seem to occasionally hear, “Definitely don’t try to defy”, “You saw those monsters fighting each other, right?” and “If you don’t want to die, just stay quiet”, whilst feeling their fear being directed towards us. I supposed it must have really been a huge shock for them to have witnessed the monster battle between the Twelve Heavenly Stars.

Eventually, the demihumans must have accepted the situation as they started to slowly trickle away from the location only to leave the wilderness behind with no one remaining.

Now, once I just add my finishing touches, we will be able to create a situation where it’s persuasive to say that the demihumans were annihilated.

“Now then – you guys, step back.”

After I got everyone to stand behind me, I slowly raised one of my arms up into the air.

When I did, mana gathered on my palm and gave birth to a giant fireball.

On the surface, it might have seemed like a Fire attribute spell. However, my elemental affinity was Sun attribute.

As such, it was a fire, yet not a fire. It was the power of the Sun.

As the bright white fireball accelerated, it increased in size and dispersed an extraordinary amount of violent and hot wind.

If the skill were to be left alone, even before it was fired, the mere collateral damage from the hot wind would be enough to annihilate all the demihumans a thousand times over and still have plenty of change (charge) left over. However, I was able to prevent any collateral damage by encapsulating the fireball with a barrier at the same time as the activation of the arcane magic.

“– [Solar Flare]”[2]

A high-tier Sun attribute arcane magic, Solar Flare. Also known as Solar Surface Explosion.[3]

Of course, it was not the real thing.

It was said that a real solar flare would have a length of tens of thousands of kilometres and its destructive power would exceed over a hundred million Hydrogen bombs, but unfortunately, this was nothing more than an imitation created by mana in the end. Unfortunately, imitation could not reach such an extent.

So the skill’s only as big as a few hundred metres wide, and I estimate its destructive power would probably only be as much as about tens to a few hundred Hydrogen bombs’ worth.

….…… My perception is also reaching a pretty dangerous point, huh… Just then, I felt my gut sink after thinking about the way I thought about things.

To think about the destructive power of a few hundred Hydrogen bombs as “only as much”, I’ve reached quite a dangerous point. Honestly, I can already see my common sense starting to collapse.

Before I fired the skill, just as a precaution, I activated a divine magic barrier and enveloped everyone present within it.

Furthermore, I plastered divine power around the target area which would soon be scorched and let the power spin rapidly.

It was one of the high-tier Sun attribute divine magic spells, [Heliosphere].[4] It was a technique which created an absolute field against arcane magic by rapidly spinning divine power and creating a layer, thereby stopping any form of mana from passing through it.

If I was still in the game, I would have been able to fire the skill without thinking twice. Unfortunately, if I were to fire a Solar Flare skill without any preparation in this world, however much I held back in consideration for my surroundings, the collateral damage would not be a laughing matter.

After finishing my preparations, I lightly flicked my wrist.

In unison with my movement, the fireball which was on top of me fired, landing on the location where the demihuman villages used to be.

– Immediately afterwards. A giant explosion.

The first thing that happened was a flash.

There was a light that quite literally blinded and burned the entire field of vision, painting the environment white.

Normally, anyone who saw this would no doubt be blinded without exception. Nevertheless, because the skill I previously cast had a debuff immunity effect, the actual amount of light that reached people’s eyes was no different from accidentally staring at the Sun directly. Therefore, as long as they closed their eyes reflexively, there would be no problem.

For reference, I didn’t even close my eyes. Isn’t this body really a cheat? I’m quite surprised that even my eyeballs’ endurance is blown out of proportion.

Next, the explosion went off, creating a mushroom cloud.[5]

Hmm, even though I’m the one who fired it, this is quite funny. For an individual to be able to possess a nuclear tier level of power, what the hell is this?

But can you believe it? Even this is nothing but a backyard toy sparkler compared to the destructive power of [The Maiden Who Fires the Silver Arrow].

I mean her arrow… really shatters planets….

I don’t even want to think about how many times stronger than nuclear warheads it is.[6]

….. Somehow, I can understand why people in the past feared and wanted to get rid of me. It feels quite natural.

Mmhmm. Yeah, this is quite scary.

Maybe on the day the Demon King and I fire arcane magic at each other, that alone would turn the whole of Midgard into a scorched wasteland?

When I turned to look behind me, there were three types of responses.

Every one of the Twelve Heavenly Stars was looking at me with an expression that said, “As expected”, with the exception of Virgo who looked like her soul had escaped her body.

Similarly, the hero’s group had the same reaction as Virgo and the whites of their eyes were showing.

Oh, now that I look at it, only the tiger dashed away.

“….. Hey Sargeant… were we… trying to fight against this?”

“….. Yeah…. That’s right…. To follow Leon-sama probably would have meant something like that.”

“However you look at it, we probably would have just died from the shockwave alone.”

“We were too reckless. I don’t even want to see another fight anymore.”

The four commissioned officers were muttering something to each other quietly and were showing an expression as if they had no other option but to laugh.

Eventually, the explosion settled back down, leaving behind a giant crater and a burnt field.

Well, even though I said a burnt field, since it was just a barren wasteland to begin with, there are only things like rocks and stuff left though.

In any event, with this, a place which would serve as the basis for the excuse was perfected.

Looking at the place, anybody would think that I had burnt the demihumans along with their villages.

In all likelihood, that explosion just now would have been seen by the other kingdoms anyway.

All that remained was for the demihumans to relocate and everything would be over.

“Now then, you were called…. Kaineko, right? It’s not like I can’t understand your feelings, but this time, why don’t you let the demihumans go as a favour for me? I hope you can tell your kingdom that the demihumans were annihilated from that attack.”

“Yes. Will happily oblige!”

“Hmm? What is this? You’re suddenly quite cooperative.”

“Yes. Will happily oblige!”

“…. Huh, whatever. Then, I’ll leave it to you? The elf over there too, alright?”

“Yes. Will happily oblige!”

“Iesu, mamu!”[7] (TLN: “Yes, Ma’am!”)

I was thinking that there would still be some kind of objection from Kaineko and Cruz, but contrary to my predictions, they became quite docile and cooperative.

But really, are these two alright? Their faces are quite pale and their feet are shaking quite violently.

I mean, err… even if they’re not that terrified, it’s not like I’m going to attack them or anything.

If anything, I actually quite like feline animals, so I’m thinking that I want to get along with them.

As I thought that, I looked towards Kaineko, but he suddenly screamed “hii” with a voice that sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

….. This is quite a shock.

“Next is the matter about the demihumans…”

“Ruphas-sama, please allow me to assume that role.”

The next role was something important.

It was the role to take the demihumans to the Mafahl Tower. However, if they were to be accidentally seen by the humanoids, all of the preparations done up until this point would become meaningless.

Therefore, I was originally thinking that I should assign this role to Libra who was the most sensitive to the surroundings and would be able to ascertain the best possible route in this situation. Nevertheless, Sagittarius volunteered as a tribute himself.

“You will?”

“I see. Master, the most suitable person in this situation is indeed Sagittarius.”

“Is that so? Well if you say so, then there shouldn’t be any mistakes.”

Sagittarius, huh?

Well, I suppose he does seem to have quite good eyesight, so I would think that he would be right after Libra in terms of suitability.

But when compared to Libra, there seem to be some worrisome aspects.

My worries must have been showing on my face. Sagittarius for some reason took out his bow and arrow as if it was the most natural thing to do.

“Please observe, Ruphas-sama. My arrow can be used in this way too. Everyone! Grab each other’s hand! The one at the foremost, grab onto me!”

……..?

What exactly is he trying to do?

The demihumans listened to Sagittarius’s command and joined hands with one another. Then, the demihuman who was at the head of the line held on to Sagittarius.

It seemed they were trying to do something quite weird. However, I did not understand the meaning of all of this.

Are they thinking that they should all line up and head to the tower together in a friendly and orderly manner?

However you think about it, that’s very conspicuous.

“Then we will be going now. [Alnasl!]”

Sagittarius fired his arrow and for some reason grabbed the arrow right after it was released.

What exactly was he thinking….?

However, I immediately understood the reason for his actions.

Sagittarius, who grabbed the arrow, disappeared from the spot and all the demihumans who were in contact with him disappeared together.

“Are you surprised, master?”

“Y, yeah. Just then, what did he just do?”

“That was his [Alnasl] skill which boasts absolute accuracy. The moment after the arrow is fired, he teleports to and in front of the enemy. Of course, even Master must be aware of that already, but he acquired the ability to teleport along with the fired arrow by grabbing the arrow itself. We were also helped as a result of that skill.”

“….. Rather than an absolute hit skill, wouldn’t it become an absolute evasion skill?”

“I suppose it can be used in both ways.”

I was impressed by Sagittarius’s use of the skill as it was explained by Libra.

By grabbing onto the arrow with an absolute accuracy effect which bypassed the concept of space-time, Sagittarius was able to use it as a teleportation skill, an absolute evasion skill and a mode of moving things. What is this? Isn’t that just unfair?

I mean, in other words, as long as he felt like it, he was able to go anywhere he wanted.

Such a cheat skill really existed.

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(Author note)

Q: Wasn’t Alnasl’s destination limited to places that he can see?

A: Yes, it is limited to destinations that he can see. It’s just that Sagittarius has such good eyesight that it makes it possible for him to teleport to a location that one would reasonably think would be impossible to see, for example, from Tyrfing to the demihumans’ forest villages which are far from each other.[8]

Similarly, Mafahl Tower is so ridiculously tall that unless an individual is on the other side of Midgard, they would be able to see it.

Q: Is it possible to run away from Brachium using Alnasl?

A: Because Brachium masks the surroundings with a field of light, that is not possible.

Q: What would happen if a full-powered Solar Flare was used during the “real Ruphas” state?

A: Midgard will be destroyed.

Q: Eh?

A: Midgard will be destroyed.

Sei: “I don’t want any more of these monsters.” (Whine)

[Solar Flare]

A high-tier Sun attribute arcane magic.

An offensive skill which burns away everything with a large area-of-effect.

It has a high SP consumption, but its destructive power is befitting of its consumption.

However, when used in this world, it is quite perilous.

If the original Ruphas were to use it at its full potential, it is possible to turn the whole of Midgard into a scorched rock.

Hey, Goddess-sama, isn’t this world just too fragile?

[Heliosphere]

A high-tier Sun attribute divine magic.

By distributing the divine power and rapidly spinning it, it creates an absolute defensive field against arcane magic by preventing mana from passing through it.

Although it looks like a cheat-tier technique, back in the game, because it created a small field that only fit a few people at most and the field could not be moved once it was formed, it was almost completely useless for the warrior types.

It was all well and good that a field was created with the intention of preventing arcane magic from hitting you, but if you were stuck inside and couldn’t reach the enemy, it was just putting the cart before the horse. After all, the enemy was still able to move around, thus it merely created one more stupid warrior who would be holed up in the field without being able to attack the all-important enemy.

Furthermore, it was out of the question to shelter magic users using this skill. It was because it would prevent their own arcane magic from bypassing the shield and reaching to attack the enemy.

It was still usable for archers, thus it had its own niche use and could not be called a completely useless and dead skill.

However, even though it is said to be an absolute defence against arcane magic, once it is hit by a few arcane magic spells, it will randomly shatter. At unlikely times, it will shatter after being hit with one arcane magic spell.

Furthermore, because it has a time limit, it often shatters in the most crucial moment. Not to mention, because it has a long lag before the skill is activated, it would be too late to activate the skill after seeing the enemy attack.

It was one of those skills which were too overpowered of a cheat such that the developers nerfed it to the ground, thereby making it into a ridiculously weak skill with next to no viable use.

Developer-san, can you stop nerfing skills to the ground and effectively killing them just because the skills were originally overpowered? (Rolls eyes)

….. Or at least, that was supposed to be the case. However, when used by Ruphas in this world, it could be deployed to covered quite a wide area and even came with the added effect of being able to be deployed outside of the specified attack range, therefore preventing unnecessary collateral damage. What is this? Isn’t that just unfair?

(Author note end)

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TLN: This is the final chapter of the arc. From the next chapter onwards, Vecna will serve as the main translator and the chapters themselves will be hosted on his website as usual.

The chapters in this arc were actually slightly longer than it previously was (on average around 3500-4000 English words, as compared to the previous 2700-3300 words). I’m not sure how long the future chapters will be since like most of you, I don’t really consider the length of the chapter when I’m reading. Anyways, unfortunately, I won’t be able to translate these chapters whilst studying for exams which starts this week, so please forgive me and wish me luck!

I hope to see you all in 1-2 months’ time! – Tp signing out (/>.<)/ haha.

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[1] “https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Solar_Beam_(move)”.

[2] ソーラーフレア

“https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_flare”.

[3] Er…. Well… this would be Solar Flare too, since the first Solar Flare is written in katakana and in English pronunciation, and the second is a Japanese description/version… But I can’t exactly write “Solar Flare” for both so xD

[4] The heliosphere (ヘリオスフィア) is the vast, bubble-like region of space which surrounds and is created by the Sun. The outer edge of the heliosphere, known as the heliopause, is where the solar winds reach an equilibrium with the interstellar winds. In a sense, it limits and contains the Sun, hence the protective skill is named after it.

“https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliosphere”.

[5] Vecna: “Errrrr…. a solar flare doesn’t create a mushroom cloud. But ok, whatever.”

[6] But I’m curious….. :X

[7] Said, Yes Ma’am in English/katakana.

[8] Vecna: “Won’t he need x-ray vision?”

Tp: “More like…. if you consider the curvature of the planet, even if your eyesight is ridiculously good, it’s not possible to see that far…. On Earth, iirc, it’s like 5km radius or something if you’re standing on the ground. Not to mention the author clearly said “other side of the planet” so it’s definitely not flat. But whatever too…”

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