August 21, 2015
This time there will be two episodes posted in a row.
“Hang in there! If they break through here, we won’t have any hope left!!”
Ryann swung his halberd with the force of a true heavy cavalryman, slashing through the approaching octopus monsters while shouting encouragement.
Inside the vast entrance hall beyond the main gate of Alsace Fortress, a fierce indoor battle was unfolding between humans and octopuses.
About fifteen minutes ago, due to the repeated acid breath attacks from the giant octopus, the sturdy steel castle gates finally began to dissolve, allowing small and medium-sized octopuses to boldly enter the castle.
In that short time, the mixed force of Crusader soldiers and the Self-Defense Corps, who had fortified their defense line in the entrance hall, had built a mountain of green corpses. Three points of enemy intrusion had been confirmed so far, and the regular Crusader soldiers were dispatched to respond, which resulted in the previously reserved Self-Defense Corps members being sent to the front lines.
However, those Self-Defense Corps members, driven by a sense of mission to reclaim the village they had developed, exhibited much higher morale than the average infantry and fought fiercely beyond expectations.
The leader of the Self-Defense Corps of the 202nd Development Village, Ryann, was at the forefront.
“Hey! The fire support is lacking; what are you doing? Burn more!!”
“Hey Ryann, the commander here is me! Don’t give orders on your own—’One Flash’!”
“Shut up, you beanpole glasses! It’s because you and your subordinates are pathetic that we’re wielding our spears—’Great Slash’!”
The powerful martial arts of the two heavy cavalrymen cleaved through multiple approaching octopuses.
The Self-Defense Corps leader Ryann wielded his halberd, while the knight company commander Cliff readied his zweihander. These two, who were on opposing terms, supported the frontline of the entrance hall’s defense together.
Thanks to their fierce fighting, the somewhat disarrayed formation was still able to continue resisting the octopus, blocking the enemy from getting too close. A powerful frontline that does not let the enemy get near draws out stable support from the rear.
Indeed, the swarm of octopuses that came rushing at them immediately after the two unleashed their martial techniques was met with a barrage of ‘Fire Arrows’ from the waiting mage unit behind them.
A rain of flames that turned the octopus horde to ash many times over, but at this moment, the greatest annihilation force was not from them.
“Be blown away—full release.”
That quiet murmur came from even further ahead than Ryann and Cliff, who should have been on the frontline. Yes, it came from the position where the octopus that invaded through the castle gate was overflowing, looking for a place to go.
In the maw of the monster horde, a single white silhouette could be seen.
Even from behind, it was clear that this was a woman, as reflected in her soft body line. Her long hair flowed like it was always being swept by a gentle breeze. Just from that back figure, one could imagine her beauty, but everyone present knew that the shadow was not from a human.
Indeed, it was a translucent human form made of pure white mist. Standing more than two meters tall, she appeared even taller over the crawling octopus.
Named ‘White Night Demon Princess,’ the master of this primordial magic, Ursula, had thrown herself alone into the enemy’s chaos, calmly erasing countless monsters.
“The horde has thinned out! The injured should pull back now!”
“Heal up! Mages, don’t forget to drink your magic potions!”
With each technique she unleashed, numerous octopuses vanished in an instant. This tremendous momentary firepower created temporary openings even against the seemingly endless enemy offensive.
In the face of the torrent of monsters, the greatest reason they could hold steady was thanks to Ursula’s solo efforts.
As the battle began, Ryann had naturally tried to stop her from recklessly throwing herself into danger. However, unexpectedly quickly, Ursula dashed through, slipping past Ryann’s outstretched arm and moving further ahead than the frontlines.
It was impossible to pull her back physically when she went right into the thick of the enemy swarm. Thus, they were reluctantly forced to allow Ursula’s unilateral actions. It was quite painful for adults like Ryann and Cliff, who should have been responsible for combat, to see the defense line held together due to her recklessness.
“The octopus’ offensive has weakened! Get your spirits up, push them all the way back out to the castle grounds!”
Perhaps from such thoughts, Ryann boldly shouted for his comrades to advance.
“That’s why I said not to give orders on your own! But fine, it can’t be helped, continue forward!!”
With Ryann and Cliff at the forefront, the mixed force suddenly counterattacked against the octopus horde, which had lost its backup.
To support the brave assault of the frontline, the rear began unleashing fire arrows in perfect timing. As the blazing shower lit up the entrance, Ryann and his allies quickly advanced to the position where Ursula was fighting alone.
“Hey, Ursula! You idiot, what have you done?!”
“…I’m sorry.”
When Ryann finally reached Ursula’s side, he was met with a proper, regretful apology and couldn’t help but furrow his brow. If she were just a child or one of his subordinates, he would have dropped a fist on her without hesitation, but it wasn’t easy to do so against a girl. Additionally, understanding her feelings was part of why he couldn’t just get angry.
“Damn it, give me a break. If something happens to you, I’ll really get killed by the priest next time.”
“Uh, I’m sorry.”
Ursula slightly furrowed her brows before repeating her apology. This time, it seemed to carry a bit more sincerity.
“Don’t go out in front again. But at least help me with support.”
“I understand.”
With that, they resumed the battle.
Moreover, with ample support from the mages, including Ursula, and the situation where no more enemy reinforcements appeared, it didn’t take long to eliminate the octopuses that had invaded the entrance hall.
“Is that all of them…? They really are all gone.”
“Indeed, it seems so.”
Stepping over the green meat masses sprawled across the floor, Ryann and Cliff peered outside through the main gate, which had mostly melted down into just a hole.
The sudden change in situation apparently piqued Ursula’s curiosity too, as she quietly stood right behind the two and gazed at the outside, where only white mist swirled.
“Could it be that we’ve won?”
“No, according to the priest, if the enemy suddenly retreats—”
At that moment, silence was abruptly shattered.
A heavy sound boomed, cutting off Ryann’s words, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind.
“Whoa!? What’s going on all of a sudden?!”
Half surprised and half annoyed, Ryann reflexively lowered his large shield and looked ahead.
The strong wind had blown away some of the surrounding mist, opening up visibility for several dozen meters. Even so, what was visible was just a portion of the inorganic stone-paved plaza inside the fortress, with no signs of the enemy.
“What the—hey, what is that!?”
Indeed, there were no enemies. However, there were friendly figures. Just a moment ago, right before the gust of wind had occurred, there was undoubtedly no one there.
Everyone present could see a small figure lying listlessly right in front of the main gate.
“What?! Sister Yuri!?”
The silhouette that appeared as if out of nowhere was, in fact, Sister Yuri in her familiar nun’s attire, cried out Ursula.
She lay weakly on the stone pavement. Her large hood had disappeared, and her flaxen hair spread across the gray ground, vividly coloring it.
In her one hand, she clutched a partially broken silvery emerald rapier.
Her posture, as if she had valiantly resisted God’s enemies until her strength gave out, left a tragic and moving impression of Sister Yuri. However, for Ursula, her sole concern was her safety.
As Ursula reached into the spatial magic pouch given to her by Chloe before the battle, searching for a potion, she took a step toward Sister Yuri, at that moment.
“—Don’t come, Ursula.”
“—Don’t come, Ursula.”
Contrary to the calm voice, Sariel’s body, missing limbs, suddenly jumped in place.
With a jump powered only by her remaining left arm, she discarded the broken sword upon landing. From behind the thin fog, the massive body of an octopus descended with its tentacles spread wide.
Two long tentacles were removed earlier by Chrono, leaving four remaining. They were only a little over two meters long, yet they were thick, with the tips hardened into claws.
With a splat, the claws struck the stone pavement, scattering sparks as a high-pitched sound echoed.
Saria, who had finished her evasion roll on the ground, quietly withdrew a replacement rapier from her pouch while watching the scene.
“…”
Saria slightly shifted her gaze to the side, confirming that Ursula would not jump out.
However, from her expression, it was clear that she realized the octopus that had appeared here was holding Reki’s corpse.
Ursula’s blue eyes widened, and her small mouth opened and closed, possibly calling the name of her friend or uttering words of denial against reality.
Either way, Sariel, who was emotionally detached, understood that she couldn’t allow the still-young apprentice sister to face this enemy.
Above all, she had already told Chrono to take care of Reki’s body.
Saria could not lie. Thus, her words must be backed by action.
Attacking the main body without harming the hostage-like Reki was an exceedingly strict constraint, even for Saria, who had lost both her legs and dominant arm, and even her magical rapier.
But it was not impossible.
“…I will retrieve Reki’s body.”
After leaving those words for Ursula, Saria completely focused her mind on the battle.
“—Hmph.”
As a short breath of focus escaped, Saria moved. Despite having no legs, and lacking support from wind magic, she advanced like a top swordsman closing the distance.
The source of that momentum was indeed her left arm, the only part remaining to her.
There it was.
With the drawn sword clenched in my mouth, I fell forward, stomach down. My empty left hand reached out in front and grasped the slight unevenness of the cobblestones.
Then, with all my strength, I pulled my arm back and leaped. It was a simple principle, but what made it possible was Sariel’s superhuman power and sense of balance.
Like a white cannonball, Sariel lunged at the squid, which was squirming in place as if assessing its prey.
In less than a second, the distance of several meters closed to zero. In her grasp was already the sword, streaking like a white blade, passing over the triangular head.
Losing yet another tentacle, the squid let out a shrill scream as it writhed in anguish.
Turning to chase the enemy that had attacked it, the squid found that Sariel had already passed by—no, even so, her assault was not yet over.
“…Blast.”
The small mutter was drowned out by the explosive sound that erupted.
The squid, dull to pain, didn’t register when the short blade of the dagger pierced its thick tentacle. Only when it released the black flames hidden within the blade, transforming into a scorching heat that assaulted it, did it finally sense the threat.
However, it might be understandable that even those who weren’t squids wouldn’t notice Sariel’s pursuit. It was because the throw of the Ignited Dagger that Chrono had given Sariel was executed with such speed.
Immediately after dealing the slashing blow with her sword, Sariel discarded the blade and reached into her pouch to retrieve a bomb dagger. She pinched the blades between her fingers, a total of three.
Twisting her body in midair, she was just about to land on the ground, but Sariel abandoned any thought of taking a defensive posture and threw the Ignited Dagger.
Because Sariel had complete control over her body, she executed a precise knife throw that perfectly obliterated the remaining three tentacles from their roots.
As Sariel decided to land her body on the ground with full force, she lightly activated “Hard Body” to prepare for the physical shock. After rolling several meters with momentum, she finally lifted her head to catch sight of the squirming enemy. The squid, having lost all its limbs in an instant, was now emitting a scream of agonized distress.
But with the loss of its tentacles, there was little left it could do.
For Sariel, her only remaining option was to carefully eliminate the main body that was clinging to Reki’s back. For now, by throwing the dagger, she could gradually burn the main body without damaging Reki’s corpse until it could no longer act.
As Sariel took out another dagger from her pouch, a change occurred in the enemy’s demeanor.
The squid stood up. To interpret that it was from overwhelming pain would be unreasonable; after all, the legs that were supposed to make it stand were not the tentacles it had lost, but rather, human legs.
In other words, Reki’s body was standing.
“—Reki!”
Ursula’s cry echoed, as if surprised.
However, the words of her best friend could not reach Reki. The soul had long departed to the underworld, leaving only the remains of its flesh behind; words of humans could not resonate with Reki like this.
Standing, Reki took on the shape of carrying the massive body of the squid, which was far disproportionate to her small form. Although her overall length had significantly decreased from losing all her tentacles, the long triangular head was now almost touching the ground.
The small yellow eyes of the squid glared and darted at Sariel, who lay flat on the ground. Meanwhile, Reki’s neck slowly turned in unison, directing her vacant, lifeless red eyes toward her.
She was targeting Sariel, who had attacked her. Sariel understood immediately, but she had no choice but to interrupt her own assault. Reki had turned toward her with the same nimbleness as in life.
If she threw the dagger now, it would hit Reki directly. Even from the front, she might be able to aim at the huge head beyond the small back, throwing through the sides or between the legs, but that was only if the target remained still. Given Reki’s quick reaction, it was possible that she might even use Reki’s body as a shield after throwing the knife.
As a result, Reki stepped forward toward Sariel, who lay helplessly without limbs.
“…Fast.”
Sariel spoke such words purely because it was an unexpectedly swift movement.
Indeed, even as Reki carried the huge burden on her back, she approached Sariel with an unnatural speed. In the blink of an eye, she closed the distance of several meters and, with a powerful stomp that cracked the cobblestones, lunged at Sariel.
“Blast.”
From the squid’s main body pressing down on Reki, a series of small explosions erupted.
As Reki dove in, Sariel leaped high above her to avoid her, simultaneously throwing the dagger toward Reki’s back as she vaulted over.
What Sariel, determined to land with her body once more, witnessed was Reki, who surged up despite the black smoke billowing from her back while honing in on her prey anew.
Though the main body had taken a direct hit from the Ignited Dagger, it should have sustained some damage. However, Reki’s movements showed no signs of slowing.
This was a very troublesome situation. For some inexplicable reason, the host body engaged in combat seemed to react with a much greater power and speed than Reki could independently. From what she could see, the Gluttony Octopus didn’t appear to possess a parasitic ability, but given how remarkably it could control Reki’s body, she had no choice but to accept that it was indeed so.
Regardless of whether this squid had parasitic capabilities or was employing a unique magic of corpse-spirit manipulation, at that moment Sariel had no option but to concentrate on dealing with the Undead Reki that was attacking her without hesitation.
Once again, Reki charged forward as before, but this time her speed was even greater.
“—Ugh!”
Sariel, who had no remaining means of escape, leaped with her left arm, but in that instant mid-air, she was caught.
The last step Reki took brought her to a sudden acceleration, finally capturing Sariel, who had tried to avoid her leap.
The short arm of Reki, fully extended, tightly grasped the flowing hem of Sariel’s long robe.
Instead of slamming Sariel’s body down to the ground with full force, Reki just swung her arm with a tremendous whooshing sound, ending up with a wild miss.
Those vacant red eyes that glared around finally locked onto Sariel, who was now wielding a sword, her dress torn significantly. The moment she was grabbed, Sariel had drawn a spare rapier from her pouch and sliced through the hem to escape.
As a result of slicing a significant area, her legs below the knees were now painfully exposed. The severed surfaces were tightly bandaged, and the beautiful white skin above was both pitiful and strangely alluring.
“…”
I was cornered. There was no sense of urgency, just a calm recognition of my disadvantage.
Just a moment ago, I had managed to escape. But next time, I would likely be completely captured.
If I counterattacked as I did when I defeated the Armored Bear, I could certainly slice Reki in two. However, her body wouldn’t escape unscathed. It would undoubtedly become a mangled carcass that was not to be gazed upon.
Yet, Reki’s charge, gaining speed with every step, was no longer something I could evade. At least, with only my left arm for mobility, I had reached my limit.
If I were to accept a mutual attack, I might be able to incapacitate Reki without hurting her. By directly inserting this blade into her back, I could physically separate the main body. If I could do that, her body would very likely be freed.
But in exchange, by getting so close to the enemy for just an instant, how much damage would I incur? At the very least, Reki had the power to kill someone like me, who had lost her blessing.
Sariel was in turmoil.
Whether to give up on Reki’s body or not.
Back when I was an Apostle, I could comfortably throw away my life to accomplish my mission. There was no hesitation or regret in that. The Dragon King Gavinal had been defeated through such an act.
However, Sariel now understood. She had no obligations to fulfill, nor gods to serve any longer.
Now my life belonged solely to me. There was no one else’s orders to follow—
“Listen, I’m keeping you alive. Don’t die on your own.”
No. I remembered that I still had a mission imposed upon me.
“…I’m sorry, Reki.”
She had already transformed into a monster, now right in front of me. With both hands thrust forward, lacking vitality yet with bloodshot eyes, she lunged at me like a wild beast.
Sariel stood still, quietly raising her sword. She loaded it with a killing martial skill.
“—White Flow Cannon.”
In an instant, everything before Sariel was bathed in white. It even erased the sight of Reki, who had closed the distance.
A raging white whirlwind. Sariel already knew that it carried an intense life-absorbing force.
“…Why did you shoot, Ursula?”
Sariel slowly lowered the sword she never swung and asked. She wanted to know the meaning behind using Ursula’s proud strongest technique, the “White Flow Cannon,” against her best friend.
“It’s fine, Sister Yuri… I think this is something I had to do.”
Sariel couldn’t fully grasp Ursula’s meaning. Why was it necessary for her to take on the sin herself? Couldn’t she have pushed that burden onto me, the one who was neither fully human nor even a puppet of the gods anymore?
“I… I want Reki… Reki to…”
If it was so painful that tears would overflow, why didn’t she let me handle it?
“Ursula, you—”
I found myself at a loss for words as I turned toward Ursula, who approached me crying. But ultimately, Sariel’s words did not weave any further.
Booooooom!
Such an overwhelming bass reverberated throughout the ground like a tremendous sound smashing down upon it.
At that moment, both Sariel and Ursula, and everyone gathered in the Alsace Fortress looked up to the sky. They beheld a gigantic Gluttony Octopus hovering above the fortress, its enormous mouth opening wide as if leading down to the abyss.