—Determinant Of The World Destiny—
If Only You Knew
In the humid air of the tropical rainforest biome, water flowed, birds chirped, the wind blew, causing a few leaves to fall from their branches, and the sounds of machinery and the thudding footsteps of the SpyderMech echoed. These were the only sounds, lonely yet peaceful. "Isn't it too quiet for this chaotic world?" After a few seconds of silence, a MeteorWraith was suddenly detected on the radar.
"Hah, I knew it," Elvin said with a hint of arrogance.
"It seems the enemy is at least a C-rank," Andreas stated.
"Everyone, disembark and prepare your Nebula Weapons!"
All members of Unit 001 opened the doors of their SpyderMech, simultaneously preparing their respective Nebula Weapons. Unlike other units, Unit 001 was a special unit where each member possessed abundant Galactic energy, at least at or equivalent to the 'Ordinary' upper level, which greatly influenced the power of their Nebula Weapons.
Once everyone had finished preparing their equipment, consisting of Nebula Weapons, secondary weapons, and potions, Nathan noticed that he didn't see Velyna's Nebula Weapon anywhere. *Where is her Nebula Weapon?* That was what was on Nathan's mind. Unconsciously, Nathan was still staring with a blank yet curious expression before Noah patted his shoulder.
"Nathan, are you interested in Velyna? You seem to stare at her often since you arrived," he said with a silly, teasing smile.
"No, I'm just curious about where her Nebula Weapon is," I replied coldly with a blank expression.
"Ah, she has a projectile-type weapon, more precisely, a kind of sharp thread hidden behind her sleeve," Noah answered.
"Unit 001 has a special right to order how their Nebula Weapons are made."
"I see."
"Nathan! Noah! Come on, don't just stand there!" Andreas shouted from afar.
"Yes, yes, Captain," Noah replied casually.
Noah and I went to join Andreas and the others who were already ahead of us.
***
We took positions as Andreas had ordered. I took a position inside a dilapidated house covered in moss and other green organisms.
"The enemy will arrive in a few seconds," Andreas said through the NeuroLink.
The MeteorWraith took the form of humans and other land animals; no wonder they were classified as B-rank. The moment the enemies arrived, Andreas immediately ordered us to attack the MeteorWraith. All members of Unit 001 attacked, some from the front and sides, and some guarded the rear.
I drew my sword and began to slash at the vital parts of the MeteorWraith-infected humans so they could rest in peace quickly. While I was fighting the monster in front of me, a monster behind me took the opportunity and tried to attack me from my blind spot.
I directed my hand towards the monster to use Orb, a hard, round weapon that could be controlled by thought and hand. The hard Orb struck the head of the monster behind me.
Some monsters regenerated because their vital parts were not completely destroyed.
"Tch." Slightly annoyed, I furrowed my brow, continuing to strike them with the Orb and slash them with my sword until they died.
After some time dealing with the monsters, finally, some of them retreated and surrendered. I sighed in relief, finally able to rest. I sighed once more, wiping the sweat from my temples and forehead.
I sheathed my sword, took out my pistol to end the lives of the still dying monsters. Gunshots were heard from several places; it seemed the others were doing the same.
"M...mother, don't... leave... me," said the dying human infected with MeteorWraith weakly, shedding a few tears. I aimed my pistol right at his head and shot him without hesitation.
Just then, Andreas approached me, his uniform and cloak dirty; it seemed he had fought some strong monsters.
"Nathan, are you finished?"
"Yes."
"Nathan, do you think humans infected with MeteorWraith are still human?"
I just kept silent, unable to answer. My eyes turned to the corpse of the infected human. The sound of the wind filled the silence between us.
"Sorry for asking strange things."
***
In the middle of the night, the moon shone brightly between the gaps in the leaves covering the sky. A steep cliff, water flowing below, its sound a bit noisy but calming. Nathan, unable to sleep, was sitting near the edge of the cliff, staring at the moon with a blank expression.
The comfortable silence was shattered when Nathan heard a voice from behind him.
"Can't sleep?" Nathan turned around and saw Velyna approaching him.
"Yeah," Nathan replied coldly.
Velyna sat beside me on a fallen tree branch.
"Do you like looking at the moon?" Velyna asked, turning her head towards me.
"Not really." Velyna looked at me with a slight smile before she looked back at the moon above.
"What do you think the moon is?"
"If you ask me, the moon is a witness object that states that humans are not alone." She spoke without giving me a chance to reply.
"Why is that?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.
"When I look at the moon, it's possible that on the other side of the world, someone is looking at the same moon I'm seeing. Even if not, in another era, at a different time, there are other people who see the same moon. When I look at the moon, I realize that I am not fighting alone."
Velyna looked at me with a smile on her face before she looked back at the moon.
"The moon is a witness to all of humanity's struggles," she said.
Well, even though I think the moon is just an ordinary celestial object, I never thought an object I don't always pay attention to could be so meaningful to someone else. Can I find something meaningful too?
***
In the distance, a district could be seen, a fairly large and very crowded district like a human tsunami.
"Finally, we've arrived at the Workshop Center," Claire said, interlocking her fingers and stretching her arms upwards.
We had hidden our SpyderMech in the forest before walking towards the gate of the Workshop Center.
From the front gate, it could be seen that the Workshop Center was surrounded by a fairly large irrigation canal, the water was quite clean although there was some trash. In the distance, tall buildings and towers could be seen, some of the buildings emitting smoke, iron pipes connecting one place to another. There was a bridge that pierced the wall through a hole made as a station, right above the hole was a large clock. The models of the buildings and trains were like steampunk novels.
We entered the district via the bridge, passing over the irrigation. We continued walking past the streetlights and the plants on our right, at the same time a small car passed us.
***
The moment we entered the market area, the sounds of people promoting their merchandise, people haggling over prices, and the cries of small children asking their mothers to buy them something could be heard. In each shop, the merchants were lined up neatly on both sides of us, some had set up tents and placed their wares under the dark tents that covered the sun.
Someone ran as if their life depended on it, bumping my shoulder; a man who looked about 37 years old shouted from a distance ahead while running after the man.
"Catch him, he's looking fo-"
Before the man finished his sentence, Velyna used her thread-shaped Nebula Weapon, catching the running man's leg until he fell as if she knew he would run away. The man's face hit the ground before he looked towards us with an annoyed expression.
Elvin approached the thief who was now lying on the floor with threads tied around his ankles and wrists. Elvin took the Rune he had stolen, tossed it up, and caught it again.
"Stealing means you can bear the consequences," he said with a mocking smile.
Everyone's attention turned to Elvin, the thief, and the stolen goods that had fallen scattered. Everyone's attention returned to the group of merchants chasing the thief.
"Finally caught him," said the person, panting for breath, slightly hunched over with his hands resting on his knees.
Elvin walked towards the old man whose rune had been stolen.
"Thank you, young man, this is an expensive rune, is there anything I can do in return?"
"I want-"
"We don't need anything," Andreas interrupted Elvin.
"It's alright, is there any information you young people would like to know?"
"Do you know the location of a museum that contains documentation about the Pillar Of Creation?"
"Ah, that one. It's quite a hot topic right now, isn't it?"
"I have the coordinates of the place, although I don't know if they're correct or not, besides, I wouldn't go to such a dangerous place anyway," said the old man, holding an object shaped like a compass which, when opened, projected a hologram and a map appeared along with a location marker.
"Thank you, sir, this is very helpful," Andreas said, taking the hologram map-emitting device called a Locator.
"But, why do you need it? Isn't that place very dangerous because there are many other Wanderers?"
"We are wanderers, a group of children who want to know at least a little about this world."
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