Godhorn Tech:Volume2 Epilogue

Epilogue

The humans prided themselves in their ability to feel regret

But they showed no sign of mending their ways

The first order of business was treating the Necromancer’s wounds.

They could finally lay her down once they had left the Bio Rainforest and there were far fewer toxins around. It was little more than a camp out in the middle of a field, but it made a lot of difference. Because of how messed up that rainforest had been. You weren’t supposed to have to deal with purple film and carnivorous fish in a forest where any injured person would be killed just by lying down.

“Bwah!!”

Miyabi took a deep breath. The air seemed to have physically changed the instant they left the rotting forest.

As had the temperature and humidity.

“The wind feels so nice.” Celina Bodenburg wiped the sweat from her brow. “The climate is entirely different, even though our coordinates are more or less the same. Why is that forest like a greenhouse?”

“The unnaturally captured heat might explain why the entire forest is fermenting,” replied Helen Clockgear, sitting on the green grass to catch her breath.

The air felt so fresh, which showed just how awful an environment that forest had been.

At any rate, the world had entirely changed.

There was no more black and purple water at their feet, so they could lower an injured person to the ground.

Onelife Shiftup laid his coat down on the ground and Miyabi Blackgarden laid the Necromancer on top of it while practically falling over himself. He was at his limit. His arms felt like they were never going to move again.

A red wound ran in a horizontal line below her chest and above her navel. Blood was still seeping from it.

Miyabi was only an apprentice, but he had been born and raised in a forestry village. With everyone using hammers and saws, he had seen his fair share of injuries, but this was something else entirely. Just seeing it sent a soul-rending chill running from his fingertips to the core of his body.

It had been so sharp.

So merciless.

This deep wound was no accident; it was an intentional attempt to take someone’s life.

“Wh-what do we do about this? Where do we even begin!?”

They had to get started.

It was a race against time.

Yet his mind had gone blank and he couldn’t shake the feeling.

What was he supposed to do? Helen was his usual go-to person for help, but the recovery medicines and antidotes in her small pockets had all been ruined by the Deadman’s Fenrir’s parasites. The natural herbs and nuts had been contaminated by the dark water and the concentrated purple film. The Necromancer only had herself to blame for that, but she really was going to die at this rate.

“Pant, pant…”

“Her blood pressure is dropping and her breathing is shallow.”

Number 8 and the philosopher’s stone were monitoring the woman’s condition.

“This is bad. If she dies, we’ve lost our only information source.”

“Boss.”

Helen searched through all of the medicines and bandages she had on hand, but she screamed when she found a rice-sized parasite that had stubbornly stuck with her. She quickly crushed it below her boot’s heel to make sure it could not spread outside the forest. That ruled out using any of those.

“A-anyway, we need to treat her. We need medicine…and something to close the wound!”

“Okay, fine.” Alicia Blueforest beckoned Celina over. “Hey, rich girl, help me out. We both know some alchemy, but if you want to act like an expert, you’ll have to prove it by saving someone on occasion.”

“U-unlike you, I work with metals, not medicines.”

Celina sounded confused, but she did seem to know how to deal with wounds and injuries better than Miyabi. Thinking back, she had journeyed on her own a lot, even if it was in an armored train. She may have been accustomed to dealing with injuries and illness as a part of looking after herself.

They all had to provide what knowledge they had.

“Right now, I need your gun. Aim it into the sky, new money.”

“Huh? You mean we aren’t searching through the grass for usable plants!?”

“Barren land like this only grows persistent but useless weeds. But some migratory birds prefer to eat rare medicinal herbs and their seeds. And if they’ve flown in from afar, they should have eaten some safer fruits from beyond the reach of the forest’s pollution.”

“I see. I should have known a filthy elf who lives out in the mud would think differently.”

“Oh, some Spring Carriers. See that bird with the pink tailfeathers? Their appearance reflects the food they’ve eaten. Try to take that one down in a single shot. The loud gunshot will scare the entire flock away.”

“L-laying on the pressure will not make my aim any better.”

With an earsplitting gunshot, feathers brighter than blood scattered in the air.

Young Kananka Fulpen looked away.

Come to think of it, his island kingdom apparently ate mostly fish and seaweed, so they may not have been in the habit of eating birds. And Kananka himself had sent out seabirds as magical messengers.

“Isn’t your boomerang meant for hunting?” Celina sounded exasperated. “Why aren’t you used to seeing dead birds?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is a defensive weapon used to knock down the shells fired by an invading ship before they can reach the island.”

“Please tell me you’re joking! Because the alternative is terrifying!!”

But for now, they needed medicinal herbs.

The party walked to where the bird fell, Alicia quickly chopped up the migratory bird with a small knife, and she pulled some undigested plants and seeds from its stomach. Miyabi had expected its stomach contents to be gross vomit, but it was surprisingly clean. He saw no sign of stomach acid and the pink flowers and seeds were still recognizable.

“Birds generally swallow things whole instead of chewing them with teeth,” explained Alicia. “And it depends on the species, but the Spring Carrier intentionally holds back on digestion to feel fuller longer with less food. Otherwise it would be so busy searching for food all day it would never have a chance to fly.”

The rest was simple enough.

Alchemy could create magic when given the appropriate materials. Miyabi watched as Alicia used fire to heat up a glass device similar to a siphon coffee maker to sterilize it of any unseen parasite eggs. Then she stuck the materials inside to create the medicine. The plant seeds were dissolved, the flower petals were crushed into a powder, and that powder was transformed into a liquid. She was using fire and hot water, but the changes were so different from when Helen cooked.

And the clock was ticking the entire time.

The Necromancer’s life was fading away.

“There, all done. This should do the trick!!”

Helen gave a nod of approval after swishing the colorful liquid in the flask.

The Necromancer appeared to be unconscious, but her body jerked unnaturally when they wiped down the wound to disinfect it. That meant she could still feel pain and was still alive. Her back arched and even more blood flowed out.

“Hold her down! Hurry!”

“Ugh!! This is one bad wound.”

Eliza Silverstorm was used to war, but even she groaned when facing that wound head on.

Helen would take on assassination jobs at times, so she remained calm.

“Frankly, she’s lucky to be in one piece after taking a hit from a sword that sliced right through a Godhorn Tech. And we can keep it from getting worse. Here goes!”

For better or for worse, they were given some time to think.

And eventually…

“Is she…okay?”

Miyabi did not even wipe the sweat from his brow. Both his hands were red.

Chosen Knight Eliza responded to the boy’s fears.

“I have fought in many battles. Do you see the red returning to her pale cheeks? She is also sweating again. Those are both signs of recovery.”

“All of her vitals are stabilizing.”

It was unclear what exactly he was doing, but Number 8 could apparently detect people’s life signs by holding out his hand and closing his eyes.

She was safe for now.

Which allowed them to think about other things.

“Hold on,” said the radio. “Her blood itself might be a defense against the parasites.”

“?”

“She lived out there with all those parasites. Granted, she kept some of them away with her whip, but she still must have some antibodies in her. You have butter in this sword and sorcery fantasy world, right? Or maybe sugar refinement? Then you should be able to do centrifugal separation with a hand-spun device. We can’t take too much blood since she’s already lost so much, but…oh, I know. If you mix a small amount of blood with saline and spin it around, you might be able to gather enough of the separated components to create a serum.”

Miyabi had no idea what antibodies were, but Alicia nodded in understanding. The alchemist elf explained that they were like an elemental defense built into your body. It did make sense that the Necromancer would not want to be affected by her own toxins and parasites. In fact, wouldn’t she have a hard living in that forest without a resistance?

Kananka’s face lit up.

“Then you can save the pirates with that! That’s excellent news!”

“…”

“Hey, cheer up, old man,” said Miyabi. “Now isn’t the time to feel guilty about what you did.”

“Agreed,” said Alicia. “Risking your life and throwing away your life are too very different things.”

“No matter how many detours you took along the way, you can save your crew now. So smile and accept it.”

“Yes…but…”

“No matter how it happened, saving lives is its own reward,” plainly stated Number 8. “I was not up to the task and the Empire was enveloped in the red you saw. I would redo it all if I could. Never let that happen to you, human.”

“Anyway, who was that with the magic sword?” asked Helen, wiping the blood from her hands.

“It was a special katana. It also appeared to be a Godhorn Tech itself,” said Celina.

Eliza had apparently viewed the old man in a different light.

She put her hands on her hips and explained.

“His sword technique was extremely refined, but I did not recognize it. Even though I have researched the military sword techniques of all my kingdom’s potential enemies. It may be an older style no country uses anymore.”

“He didn’t say much, but what he said was curious.” Kananka slowly repeated the words, like he was carefully contemplating them. “You too possess a Godhorn Tech.”

Miyabi gulped.

“You mean he’s intentionally targeting Godhorn Techs with nothing but a sword? So he only attacked the Necromancer because he was waiting for her?”

“Hm. Then could he have attacked me or King Kananka if he had chosen a different order?” asked Onelife.

“We never did get confirmation that the Necromancer is the 11th,” pointed out Miyabi.

Helen looked skeptical.

“You think it might not be her? But we know she was pulling the strings with Number 8 and the pirate.”

“That is true.” Miyabi took a cautious tone. He carved away the foreboding roiling within him, gradually revealing its shape. “With everything Deadman’s Fenrir could do, would she really need sorcery bombs? And blowing things away without a trace doesn’t sound like her. I mean, look at that forest. Wouldn’t you expect her to pollute the entire area and build up her own territory there?”

“But she also said all Godhorn Techs count as necromancy since they use a Wicked God horn. We’re talking about a mad scientist with all her screws so loose they fell out long ago. I could see her breaking her own rules when it’s convenient for her.”

The decadent woman was still unconscious.

Her hat was not saying anything. It was impossible to tell if it was refusing to speak or if it had fallen asleep after wearing itself out sobbing.

“If only we could ask her directly.”

The magical automaton’s words were always accurate but not always easy to implement.

Night had fallen.

“It’s lucky the Lucifer Horn can still fly. I’m not sure what we would have done if it couldn’t bring us firewood.”

Helen was tending to their magically-lit campfire.

They had taken turns looking after the Necromancer, but she was still in a deep sleep. Still, Number 8 had been right about her vitals stabilizing. It may have been safe to move her now.

They could not leave her at this camp forever.

Miyabi Blackgarden placed a wet handkerchief on her forehead and repeated the same thing for the umpteenth time.

“She still isn’t waking up.”

“Boss…” weakly moaned the hat.

It had been so silent before, but it had recovered a bit.

They could not walk all the way back to the criminal city while carrying the wounded Necromancer. That city was home to endless fighting and would thus have plentiful medical facilities, but that was not a short journey. There was a risk of her wound reopening before they arrived.

But what other option was there? He could only think of one thing. And with Moebius, they had already transported an injured person that way.

“Let’s send her to Horn Fortress for now,” concluded Miyabi. “We can speak with her once she wakes up.”

“You’re going to carry her with that wire!? When she’s asleep!?”

“Hm, then we need to create some kind of stretcher for her. The tent…alone wouldn’t work. Do you mind if I take apart the bag used to carry it?”

“You, automaton! Stop fixing the flaws in Miyabi’s plan!! He’ll never learn if you keep spoiling him as the perfect butler!”

No one listened to Helen’s reasonable complaint.

Miyabi summoned the Lucifer Horn.

It could not fly anywhere, but it was helpful enough just sending things to the safety of Horn Fortress. Instead of attaching the wire at a single point, they connected wires of their own to all four corners of the stretcher with the patient strapped down. Then they attached the wires together above, making a rectangular pyramid.

The colossal bomber flew by overhead and took the Necromancer and her hat away on the stretcher.

The rest of them needed to deal with their current situation.

“Like Miyabi was saying, the Necromancer was pretty powerful herself,” said the radio. “Why would she need to stick to sorcery bombs when she was so multitalented? Her specialty was biological stuff, which those bombs aren’t.”

Miyabi thought for a bit before responding.

“Then should we focus on someone fixated on Godhorn Techs and Wicked God horns?”

For example, that white masked man?

“That swordsman,” said Eliza.

“It does seem likely he could be the 11th,” agreed Alicia. “Maybe he uses any means necessary to kill Godhorn Tech users.”

“But that makes him easy to predict.”

The philosopher’s stone was right.

“He will appear wherever you find a Godhorn Tech and its user,” softly stated Miyabi.

Miyabi Blackgarden.

Celina Bodenburg.

Eliza Silverstorm

Number 8.

Kananka Fulpen.

Onelife Shiftup.

The Necromancer.

And the white-masked old man.

He pictured all of them in his mind and groaned.

“Since there are 10 in all, there aren’t many candidates left. And if he cares about the Godhorn Techs and not their users, we can rule out Moebius.”

For the same reason, the Arsenal Kingdom’s Chosen Knights, who had controlled theirs by majority rule, would be safe now that the Icicle Bullet was no more.

“We should be able to get ahead of him if we know who the remaining options are.”

Number 8’s suggestion made Alicia gasp.

“…”

“What is it, miss?” asked the radio around her neck.

The elf shook her head.

“Well, I do know the name of one…but I have no idea where she would be nowadays.”

“Oh, in that case.” Celina raised a small hand. “There is one place I know has one of the few remaining Godhorn Techs.”

“?”

“My Bodenburg Company has built a distribution network covering every part of the continent. There is a desert nation north of that Bio Rainforest. We should probably visit that massive religious nation and warn their Godhorn Tech user.”

The sun was setting, so they decided to spend the night in the tent and head out in the morning.

The desert was apparently past the Bio Rainforest.

They were extremely reluctant to revisit that forest and travel to the other side, but they did so anyway.

The tropical forest was just as gross as ever, but it showed signs of gradual recovery with the Necromancer gone. There was also no sign of the old man.

A chilly wind was driving out the uncomfortably stuffy heat.

Alicia sounded impressed as the blood-warm rain continued to fall.

“Nature is incredible.”

“Safe travel through here would do wonders for our company. Eh heh heh. We could take the shortest route between the criminal city and the desert nation. Ooh, and we could even look into the former researchers hiding out in the forest and try recruiting some of them.”

Miyabi still didn’t understand any of Celina’s business talk, but he was glad she was calm enough to count her chickens before they hatched like that.

And.

They finally made it out of that creepy black and purple forest.

“This is…a desert?”

The world had changed.

Was this really a part of the same continent? Kananka’s island had been hot, but not like this. There was nothing but fine sand as far as they eye could see – no plants and no water. The rolling dunes of that sandy world resembled an ocean frozen in time. No one could live in such an empty place. That was plain to see just by looking at it.

The heat was like what you felt when removing pottery from the kiln.

“This is incredible!!” shouted mountain boy Miyabi.

“Ohh, this is worse than just no forest – there’s no grass or flowers either. It’s all so dry.”

The elf was always sapped of energy in the absence of greenery, so this was a trial so soon after the rotting forest.

There was no stone-paved road here. Maybe none had ever existed and maybe it had long since been buried below the blowing sand.

“Koo…”

“I know, Alma. Painful, isn’t it? Here, I will hold you.”

“N-no concern for the machine who’s vulnerable to fine sand and temperature changes, I see!” protested the radio.

“I feel your pain,” said the magical automaton.

“I don’t want sympathy from a guy! Anyway, the days out here are hot as hell and the nights are cold as hell. Either way, it ain’t gonna be pleasant.”

“There is a country full of people here somewhere,” said Helen, providing no details whatsoever.

When they observed the sandy desert carefully, they could see what may have been paths. Those were the safest and shortest routes between villages. As they followed one, they saw some fleshy plants growing from the sand, meaning there was water here.

Then Miyabi saw a small pond.

His eyes widened.

“Oh.”

“Waterrrr!” rejoiced Alicia. “Greeeeeeen!!”

“Someone stop that idiot before she strips and jumps in!!” shouted Helen.

“No, don’t stop her!” shouted back the radio. “I want to see a bathing elf! A real one!! Did we skip 5G to go straight to 6G!! This is moving blazing fast!!”

Miyabi was closest, so he tackled her slender hips, knocking the elf to the sand where she screamed and flailed at how hot it was. But holding her down until it subsided was the only way to reclaim peace. He had to harden his heart and keep his weight on her.

In the short time he was focused on that, Alma had undergone a new transformation while seated on the edge of the oasis and soaking its short back legs in the water. A flower was blossoming from the creature’s head.

Celina crouched down and poked at the flower.

“Is this…a dryad?”

“This isn’t the earth element. Is it wood? The thing’s become a plant to soak up all the water for itself,” said the radio, sounding disgusted.

But one of them was in no state to join the silly conversation: Eliza, born and raised in a snowy kingdom.

“Pant, pant. Th-that island kingdom was bad enough, but this is on another level…phew.”

Kananka sighed.

“I do understand that seeing some water can be calming.”

“Nhhh!! It’s no ocean, but it’s something!!” agreed Onelife.

“Don’t you dare! This blessed oasis is reserved for bathing elves, not smelly muscle men!!” shouted the radio so forcefully its voice distorted.

Celina put a hand on her hip.

“Sigh. It’s an oasis all right. We were lucky to find it. People need water to traverse the desert, so we should reach the desert nation if we follow the oases.”

They had not noticed it before, but there was some kind of rock jutting up from the center of the oasis. It was too smooth to be natural and it pointed sharply up toward heaven. It had a giant slab sticking diagonally into it, so it may have been a makeshift building with a simple roof. Whatever it was, it was clearly artificial.

“?”

Number 8 looked puzzled for once.

“What an odd sensation. I feel a slight pressure in my chest.”

They continued across the scorching desert after that.

Knowing there would be more oases up ahead filled them with hope. They could actually observe their surroundings now. They could see other stone ruins further out from the oasis, but these were different from the ones in the Bio Rainforest. There were giant statues of four-legged beasts and great rulers and there were enormous square pyramidal structures. The boy could not even imagine what they had been built for.

After passing through a few more oases, a large city came into view. It was nothing like they had seen before and it was a living, growing place, not ancient ruins.

“Pant, gasp.”

Miyabi wiped sweat from his brow in a world where simple walking was a wearying affair.

“Is that it?” asked Alicia. “Have we finally found the desert nation?”

“K-koo…”

“It is called the Hibis Aclia Oracle Nation, country elf. Oh? There are people gathered near the entrance. Is that…a sign?”

Helen was right.

A sign had been erected in front of the large gate. It appeared to contain some kind of notification. Three or four youths viewed it for a bit, but then they nodded and entered through the gate.

Kananka made a reasonable guess.

“It might explain the process for entering the city.”

“So it isn’t just the sand and heat. There is something going on here. I just hope it can explain this pressure I feel.”

Number 8 was fighting something unseen and Celina tilted her head next to him.

“Hm? I don’t remember that sign there last time I visited.”

“We’ll know what it is when we read it. Let’s take a look.”

Miyabi walked up to the sign.

The words jumped out at him: Sacrifices wanted. Inquire within.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

They all fell silent.

Miyabi spoke for them all.

“Why do I get the feeling we’ve walked into trouble again?”

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