Battlefield 5: Mountain Front

The left arm gleamed with a dazzling light.

The gemstone was embedded into the flesh of the arm, completely fused.

And then I realized it.

Having carefully observed the gemstone, I noticed something.

Was magic essence flowing into that arm's gemstone?

"Get away! The gemstone is activating!"

My voice echoed through the interrogation room.

I charged toward the enemy soldier.

I'd disrupt the flow of magical energy through the gemstone, delaying its activation.

Imperial soldiers stepped back, startled by my words.

Meanwhile, I moved closer to the enemy soldier.

"If you do something reckless again, Taro, I'll cut off that enemy man's head."

Ignoring Alex's words, I touched the gemstone stuck to the enemy soldier's arm.

I poured my magic essence into it, disrupting its activation.

?

Something's wrong.

Normally, if an ordinary person had someone else's magic essence forced into them, the gemstone wouldn't activate.

Yet, the magic stone continued to grow hotter and hotter.

The gemstone was activating on its own, regardless of the person's will.

"Wh-what's going on? Why won't the temperature go down?"

"H-hhhaaa, I can't take it anymore—just let go of my arm! Quickly!"

The stone's temperature rose further, and blood began to seep from the point where the stone connected to the arm.

If this continued, the arm would burn up and the person would die.

I have to stop the effect of the magic stone attached to my arm—no matter what.

Instead of the usual flow, I begin absorbing the magical essence from the magic stones clinging to the royal soldiers' arms.

At that instant, a magic stone sprouts from my hand.

!?

Could this really happen!?

Stay calm. A magic stone can be destroyed by absorbing its magical essence. Visualize transferring the essence from the stone growing on my hand to somewhere else.

Disperse the absorbed magical essence into the air, and if that’s still not enough, activate a spell to release the overflowing surge of magical energy into the surroundings.

Purple lightning crackles around my body.

An immense amount of magical energy overflows from around me—so much that even someone who normally doesn’t use magic stones can feel it.

That’s enough.

"Alek, destroy the magic stone growing on my arm!"

"Are you sure?"

Without hesitation, Alek strikes the magic stone growing from my hand with his bare fist.

The stone shatters into pieces without any pain, and my original hand reappears.

"Good! Let's keep going."

I've figured it out.

Now I just need to extract the magical essence.

I draw the essence from the man writhing in agony before me.

The thick concentration of magical energy makes my stomach churn, but I can't stop now.

Eventually, the magic stone clinging to the man's arm crumbled and fell apart.

The enemy's arm, now devoid of the stone, bore severe burn marks, but he had lost consciousness and seemed otherwise unharmed.

It's over.

I managed to stop the magic stone's rampage. I collapsed onto the ground, sitting down heavily.

"Is it over?"

Alex called out to me.

"Yeah... I think it's fine now. Things worked out somehow..."

"Even if it came out of the blue, your composure is impressive. Well done."

"What's this? You're praising me unusually highly. I'll take it, then."

Standing up, I looked around and found myself surrounded by imperial soldiers.

Oh no.

I'd overstepped... I thought, but soon I began receiving thanks instead.

Shortly after, I was summoned by the military command overseeing the battlefield.

"Forgive the intrusion, but I must ask you to explain the incident we just witnessed, Taro."

"That was...

I explained the situation to the military command and detailed exactly what had occurred.

Apparently, the outcome will be reported to the imperial government.

Though I acted on my own initiative, I faced no punishment whatsoever—and was instead recognized as a hero, granted the privilege of using a high-quality tent reserved for military personnel.

Exhausted from the ordeal, I fell asleep immediately."

The next day, it was reported that the enemy man had woken up in the afternoon, so the interrogation resumed.

This time, it seemed I would be given a chance to ask questions as well.

I immediately headed to the man’s side and found him lying on a thin cloth spread on the ground.

Though I felt sorry for him, all I could do was silently pray he’d endure it somehow.

The man noticed me and widened his eyes.

“How are you feeling? Not too unwell, I hope?”

Ah, it's you. Thanks for saving me. You're a strange one, helping enemy soldiers all the way here.

"People always ask me. When did the wrist-mounted gemstone devices first appear?"

I don't remember it very clearly. Before joining this war, I went all the way to near the palace.

That's why I took the medicine—it makes you stronger.

Medicine—something clearly suspicious has emerged.

It's impossible not to doubt.

"That's when it started. My arm gradually began to itch, and before I knew it, a gemstone was embedded in my arm."

I also heard about his daily life, but nothing particularly strange was mentioned. The suspicious medicine still seems to be the main suspect.

"Oh, by the way, I heard a researcher at the palace talking about it. Something to enhance responsiveness to gemstones, or whatever... Honestly, I didn't really understand what 'high responsiveness to gemstones' even meant."

According to the man, there are people in this world whose bodies turn to stone due to excessive responsiveness to gemstones. I never thought I'd become one of them myself."

Hearing the man's words, a chill ran down my spine.

Lina is in danger. If we don't act now, she'll be used as a weapon.

A researcher capable of turning humans into gemstones.

They'll definitely use her as an experimental subject.

From what I gather, she hasn't been captured yet.

If we move now, she can still be saved.

That night, Alex gathered Clara and Kenny.

"Everyone, I'm thinking of heading to Entoshi. There's someone I want to visit there."

"Visiting the Rolling family, huh. Sounds good. This time, you're our leader. We'll follow your decision."

"We're fine with that~ If it seems too dangerous, we'll guide you to a safe spot. I'm not really eager to go, though." "Hmm."

What kind of place would be safe but still not really tempting to go to? I'm curious, but I trust Clara's judgment.

Alright, the team's on board.

Let's head out right away.