The Former Child Prodigy Somehow Even Deals With A Meteor

Ii Cherni had been sent back where it came from, but there was still a problem left.

The meteor overhead.

It would probably strike the ground in a few more minutes. No matter how fast I ran, there was no escaping the bombardment radius of a meteor.

“Ilviiiiis-saaaaaan!”

Calling my name, Fiona came running toward me.

“Did you win!? Did you win!?”

“Yes, well, somehow.”

“That is amazing!”

“Is it?”

To be honest, I was not really sure whether it was all that amazing. That was because I had no idea how strong Ii Cherni actually was. Everything besides it had just been ordinary skeletons and zombies. And as for closing the gate, I kind of felt like anyone could probably do it as long as they had the red gemstone…

“Well… but it is too early to bask in the afterglow of victory. As things stand, we are still about to die.”

I pointed up at the sky.

Drawn by that, Fiona lifted her face—

“W-wh-wh-whattttttttttttttt!? Wh-wh-what is that!? Huh!?”

“It seems someone, somewhere, learned there was an emergency and kindly dropped a meteor for us.”

“That is not the kindness we needed!”

“Yes, not at all.”

“This feels way beyond the level of just running away, but wh-wh-wh-what are we going to do, Ilvis-san!?”

“It will work out somehow, so leave it to me.”

Saying that, I looked up at the sky.

The meteor was already close.

…Well, this should do.

I held up the red gemstone toward the meteor.

A moment ago, I had analyzed the gemstone’s power and activated its closing power. This time, it was the reverse—I would activate its opening power.

“Gate, open.”

The moment I spoke, with a metallic gin! sound, the gate opened once more.

Directly opposite the meteor falling from the sky.

My aim was simple.

I was going to shove that meteor into the gate. It would cause damage in that other world, but—well, according to Ii Cherni, they did not die anyway, so it should be fine.

Whether this would work or not was a gamble, but I was confident.

Because the Magic Arrow I had fired earlier had been swallowed perfectly. I admit that was a rather rough basis for confidence, but it was also true that I had nothing else to cling to.

Now then, what would happen?

The meteor and the gate collided.

And so— everything unfolded exactly as I had expected.

With a heavy rumbling, the meteor sank into the gate. It was a truly eerie sight. Seen from afar, it must have looked like the sun called a meteor sinking beneath the horizon called a gate.

“Amazing! Amazing! Ilvis-san! I do not really understand what is happening, but this is somehow amazing! I have never seen anything like this!”

“Neither have I.”

Before long, the meteor disappeared completely into the gate.

It was over— this time, it was truly over.

“Close.”

I poured my will into the red gemstone. At the same moment, the gate shattered like glass once more.

All that remained was the two of us and the quiet grove at night. The gentle light pouring down from the moon softly illuminated the darkness.

It was the first quiet moment since before we were attacked by that group of five. I do not think very much time had actually passed, but it felt awfully long—like I had spent the equivalent of six frantic days.

Good grief, give me a break.

Fiona spoke.

“…Are we saved this time for real, Ilvis-san?”

“This time, it is really over, Fiona-san.”

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! Yessssssssssssssssssss!”

Fiona threw both hands into the air and shouted in joy.

…It must have frightened her that much. Seeing my client genuinely happy made me feel honestly good.

“You do not need to worry anymore.”

It was just as I said that.

Crack.

I heard the sound of something splitting. It came from my left hand. When I looked at the red gemstone I was holding, a large crack had formed in it.

“Ah!”

Fiona cried out in surprise.

The crack spread one after another, covering the whole gemstone in no time. Right after that, the gemstone shattered with a force almost like an explosion.

It literally broke into tiny fragments, and red particles sparkled as they danced through the darkness.

“It shattered…”

“…Sigh, I am sorry, Fiona-san…”

I had probably overdone it, opening and closing the gate like that… Even though it had been the subject of Fiona’s research, I ended up destroying it.

“No, no, no, no! That is completely fine, Ilvis-san! I really thought I was going to die, but you saved me! I am very grateful!”

“If that is how you feel, then good…”

“And besides, there was no way I could keep researching that thing anymore. Something that terrifying could never be taken back with us. In that sense, I think it is actually good that it broke.”

“I see.”

That was certainly one way of looking at it.

“Then I suppose that means the issue is resolved.”

“Yes!”

“Fiona-san, you should get at least a little sleep, so please go ahead and rest. I will keep watch.”

“No, no! Not tonight! Ilvis-san, you need to sleep too!”

“It is fine. I sleep and wake in one-minute increments.”

“That is exactly what I mean! That is too much!”

“Huh, but I think it is normal.”

And with that sort of exchange, my guard duty came to an end.

“What was that—”

After being at a loss for words for a while, Travas continued.

“What happened!?”

It was a sight beyond comprehension. The meteor from Travas’s activated Meteor Fall—had suddenly vanished.

(…It looked as though something strange swallowed it up, but—)

Thinking that far, Travas reached a horrifying conclusion.

(Could it be that they opened a gate to the netherworld and drove it in there!?)

A chill ran down Travas’s spine.

It was an unbelievable event. But to explain what had happened before his eyes, that was the only possibility. They had opened a gate toward the meteor, dealt with the meteor, and then closed the gate in other words, the target possessed the technology to freely control the power of the “Eye of the Netherworld.”

Was such a thing even possible!?

Travas could not suppress his astonishment. Even Travas, who was of the highest class when it came to creating and using magical tools, had not reached that domain even after researching it for three years.

And yet there was a person who possessed that technology!

Faced with a being who far surpassed himself, Travas’s heart was dyed with bitter emotion.

Biting down on that feeling through clenched teeth, Travas muttered,

“…Shall we head back.”

Yuri, standing beside him, looked at Travas in surprise.

“…!? Head back? What about the ‘Eye of the Netherworld’?”

“We give up.”

Travas said it flatly and firmly.

“Or rather, I should say it is beyond our reach. Our opponent far surpasses us in ability.”

Yuri caught her breath.

In a calm tone, Travas continued.

“They closed the gate to the netherworld, and on top of that even dealt with a falling meteor. Without question, they are a monster.”

To begin with, even the ultimate trump card of calling down a meteor had been dealt with.

There were no moves left for them to make.

“Besides, the ‘Eye of the Netherworld’ most likely no longer exists.”

Travas lowered his eyes to the radar.

The light point indicating the “Eye of the Netherworld,” which had been glowing until moments ago, had vanished completely. Had the gemstone itself been destroyed after exhausting all its power?

“We have no choice but to return at once and report to Orfred-sama.”

“…Will we not wait for the five who were sent to recover it?”

“The situation is unknown, but the opponent’s ability is Special S Rank. In this situation, there is no sense in waiting for subordinates whose fate is unknown. It is midnight, but we should leave quickly. Consider them dead. If they are alive, they will return on their own.”

“…This incident will be difficult to explain in a report.”

“Indeed. But if we go over there, we will certainly be killed. There is a user of that level at that location.”

Travas let out a small sigh.

Considering the time and cost poured into technological development over the last three years, this would be a devastating blow. All of it had been spent like water on the assumption that the “Eye of the Netherworld” could be put into practical operation.

Orfred’s mood would no doubt be terrible.

Just thinking about it made Travas’s stomach ache.

“Being scolded is better than being killed. At the very least, anger will not kill me.”

With that, Travas turned on his heel to prepare for the journey back.