Chapter 187: Younger Sister (1)
Gargoyles and trolls, the two beasts, were famous as the vanguard of the southern march and the waves that signaled the start of the war. Forest trolls were particularly fast-footed, and gargoyles were very aggressive flying beasts, making them perfect for kicking off the attack.
“…”
I looked down on them from Reccordak’s wall. One group was shaking the ground, and the other was soaring through the sky. They weren’t special opponents, but their ranks stretched out to the horizon.
“…Get ready.”
I raised my right hand. Nineteen pieces of wood steel floated behind me as the soldiers’ automatic crossbows aimed. Mana from the knights rose from the road.
“Fire.”
Straight lines, more suitable for the expression ‘harpoon’ than bolts, swept the earth and sky in sync with my command. A series of similar attacks followed a heartbeat later, then again. The bolts broke through the trolls and gargoyles, tearing wings and piercing flesh.
Swish-!
In the meantime, the wood steel ripped through those unfelled. Backed with my mana, they already transcended the speed of sound as they moved, cleanly targeting only the monsters’ vitals.
“…Aaaah—!”
A roar rang out from beside me: Epherene. She condensed the wind like a blade and fired it, splitting a gargoyle in two.
“Ugh!”
“Syrio is here!”
After that, the knights, led by Julie and Syrio, advanced. They gladly jumped down over the barrier. They rebuffed the enemy hordes with their swordsmanship and mana.
“…”
Among the hundreds of knights, my eyes unconsciously locked onto Julie. Her swordsmanship was like a soft flower blooming amidst the bloody battlefield.
“Boss. What are you looking at?”
Louina tapped my shoulder. I threw the wood steel again.
Gwoaaahhh-!
The shouts of trolls and gargoyles reverberated through the air. However, only their capacity for noise was great, as the barrier remained solid. They couldn’t deal with the rampant knights, and those not felled by swords were mowed down by spells and bolts. It was a massacre.
“I leave this to you.”
Louina nodded as I turned away.
I had something else to do.
* * *
…At that moment, when the battle hit full swing, the Demon Blood Jaken, having infiltrated the upper parts of the prison, crept along. He came from a tribe with nothing but malice toward the Empire, so he proudly joined the Altar. From the beginning, he only intended to destroy Reccordak.
“Ahem.”
He pretended to look around and left the dorms. He told his clan to keep an eye on the frontline and moved toward the food warehouse.
“…There it is.”
This was the lifeline holding food and supplies for the entirety of Reccordak. If they destroyed it, Deculein wouldn’t survive long…
“He put up a strong one.”
The warehouse had a triple magical security barrier, but of course, that much was expected. He put a spell in the warehouse, a superlative detonation spell bestowed upon him by the Altar. But the moment he was about to apply mana to the spell-
“What are you doing?”
“…!”
Jaken jerked, feeling like his intestines were being twisted.
“…What, what are you doing?”
When he finally calmed down and turned around, he found a lone child standing there.
“You can’t go out now. Something’s happened.”
Jaken shook his head and relaxed his grip on his stomach.
“I know how to protect myself. Hey, you go in.”
“What is that? You just attached it to the warehouse.”
“…You don’t need to know. Are you a villager?”
Jaken hid the spell with his body.
“No. I am an adventurer.”
“…Adventurer?”
“Yes. I’m Lia.”
This kid, an adventurer? Jaken glanced her up and down. She was about 150cm tall, tall enough to be mistaken as a teenager, but anyone would say that her face looked too young. He frowned.
“That’s ridiculous. Don’t lie, and hurry along-“
At that moment, the child moved. She reached the warehouse in only one step and examined the detonation spell on the wall.
“…Hey! What’re you doing?!”
“This is a detonation spell.”
“What, what are you… shit!”
Jaken pushed the child away. But when he tried to activate the spell with his mana…
“If you move even the slightest bit, I will kill you.”
A dagger thrust under him. Jaken rolled his eyes to look behind him. The child named Lia was staring at him with eyes sharper than any blade.
“…Gulp.”
“Don’t even swallow.”
“…”
Stomp—
Footsteps approached. Jaken and Lia both turned to look at the newcomer.
“Were you here?”
It was Deculein, but he wasn’t alone. He was with Jaken’s group. The thirty-nine mercenaries, excluding him, were right behind the Professor, all tied to him with steel cords.
“…Jaken, is that your name?”
At his words, Lia put down her dagger. Deculein approached Jaken, glaring at him. Jaken’s body was already drenched in sweat.
“Kneel.”
“…Um. I…”
“Before I rip off your limbs and kill you.”
The force of his words weighed on Jaken. Before he knew it, he knelt. His legs felt rubbery. Lia took off the detonation spell and brought it to Deculein with a smile.
“Why, will you praise me?”
“The supplies have already been moved.”
Deculein passed by Lia, leaving her still smiling and moving her lips blankly. Deculein grabbed Jaken.
“You fool.”
He tied the man up with a steel wire.
“…Ugh!”
“People like you are pushing back the future of the Demon Blood.”
Lia observed Deculein for a moment longer; his face resembled Kim Woojin but with an infinitely colder personality. Jaken, this guy wasn’t even Named, but while the courage he showed entering the tiger’s den was commendable, there was no chance he’d survive now that Deculein caught him.
“…Um. Professor. What are you going to do with them?”
Lia asked innocently, pretending to be curious. Then, Deculein glanced at her, responding with indifference.
“I said earlier I’m going to tear their limbs off.”
* * *
…He was going to tear their limbs off.
Arriving at the ridge of Reccordak, Elesol watched the whole scene. She hugged her knees and pondered.
“What are you going to do?”
Delcon, the watchman of the desert, asked her cautiously. Elesol signed her response.
—How is she? Yeriel, now.
“Looks like she’s sleeping in a barrel.”
Elesol nodded.
—He did something stupid. Jaken of the Demon Blood tribe.
“Yes. That’s right.”
—The Imperial Palace can’t hear of what they did.
When they hear that the Demon Bloods had attacked Deculein, their gas chambers would be activated immediately. Therefore, when they assassinate Deculein, they must make it impossible to identify a suspect.
-There’s no other way. We must use our methods.
“Methods… Elder. May I ask what happened to the Great Elder?”
—Once you know, I’ll have no other choice.
“…Yes, okay.”
Delcon shut his mouth, and Elesol recalled the day she met the Great Elder. Even then, Elesol had insisted on Deculein’s assassination. While the Great Elder tried to stop Elesol, he eventually handed her a book when he realized he couldn’t.
In that book, the Great Elder’s characteristics, the names of the Demon Blood, were recorded.
—We will deal with Jaken.
Elesol signed.
—For that, I enter alone. Tonight, to Deculein.
“But, Elder. The opponent is Deculein-“
—It’s okay.
She looked behind her to the Space Warp Wagon created with Ellie’s talent. Inside it, Yeriel was asleep.
—This time, he will know. That there’s no other way…
* * *
Boom-! Boom-! Boom-!
It was night; a large moon and stars loomed overhead, and frost hung heavy in the air. But the battle was not over. Of course, the number of trolls and gargoyles had decreased, but their legion was still innumerable.
“Julie, we’ll be going first.”
Gwen gave her a nod. The knights who fought for eight hours weren’t tired, but they looked quite bored.
“Yes. Take a rest.”
Julie volunteered to stand guard. There were still 500 monsters coming in every hour, so it wasn’t something that could be overlooked.
“Yeah~, you take it easy too~.”
“…”
Julie leaned against the wall and read Deculein’s report. However, she wasn’t alone. Reylie stood by her side.
“Is that report worth reading?”
“…These are the right instructions.”
“I mean. A knight knows swordsmanship better…”
“I thought so too. But this must be acknowledged. The professor is theoretically competent to teach anyone anything.”
“Still… oh! There, troll!”
Reylie pointed to a group of trolls holding wooden sticks. Julie drew her sword and ran to cut them down.
“Ah! Gargoyle, over there!”
They were in the sky this time. The swarm of fluttering gargoyles was repelled by an icy wind.
So, after about five short battles-
“…Are you okay?”
A voice came from above. Julie tilted her head upward. Above her was Deculein’s assistant, Epherene, and her colleague, Ihelm. The two looked down at Julie and waved.
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“You’ve been busy. We’re here too, so you don’t have to push yourself too hard.”
“…”
Julie shook her head to say it was okay. Ihelm sighed.
“This idiot is so inflexible that she can’t listen to our words.”
Julie narrowed her eyes as she regarded him. Ihelm raised his eyebrows.
“You know I’m right. You were always so inflexible that you forcibly accepted that engagement to Deculein back in the day.”
Reylie and Epherene trembled. Julie answered in a low voice.
“…Don’t talk about that.”
“I think your personality is self-inflicted. Well, you should’ve chosen me. Though it’s already too late.”
“Ihelm. Be quiet!”
Reylie yelled, but Ihelm grinned and shook his head.
“Hey, Leaf. What do you think?”
“…About what.”
Epherene responded bluntly.
“Deculein and that stubborn knight.”
Julie pretended to be uninterested as she listened to their conversation. Epherene glanced between Ihelm on the wall and Julie below before speaking.
“…Professor Deculein doesn’t seem to hate her that much.”
“Oh. Is that so? But what now? That Knight Deya hates Deculein enough to kill him.”
Julie looked up again. However, what he said was true. She still hated Deculein, and she would see the grudges of Veron and Rockfell be repaid one day.
“…Don’t do that. Both of you might regret it.”
Epherene cut in. Mumbling in a bittersweet tone, she scrambled away— hurriedly.
“…What the?”
Ihelm was bewildered, and Julie watched her go blankly. But they didn’t have time to relax.
Gwaaaah-!
On the horizon, another wave of gargoyles and trolls was incoming.
* * *
Gwaaaaah-!
In Reccordak’s mansion. Standing by the window, I looked in the direction of the scream. Beyond the wall, another wave had appeared. This would probably be repeated many more times throughout the migration period. I wouldn’t be able to sleep or rest comfortably.
“…”
I took a sip of wine before turning to the one standing behind me.
“Speak.”
Someone had been creeping about for a while now from the entrance of the mansion, an uninvited guest with no intention of hiding themselves.
—…
I looked over to see a monster wearing a fox mask.
“Who is it?”
—You don’t need to know.
The woman responded in sign language. Sign language. Woman. With these two clues, I already had a vague idea of who she was.
“Are you of the same race as those I’ve imprisoned out there?”
The woman nodded.
“Are you all from the same group?”
-No. We have come to punish them on your behalf.
“Aren’t you Demon Blood too?”
—They cooperate with the Altar. We are independent. We’re not the same.
I grinned. We’re not the same – it wasn’t wrong, but for some reason, it felt off.
“What do you want? Are you asking me to release them?”
—The Altar would have known. That the Demon Blood would fail this mission.
“You mean it was a trick?”
-Yes. If you report today’s incident to the Imperial Family, the gas chamber will be activated immediately, and innocent Demon Bloods, young and old, will be slaughtered.
“Are you asking me not to report it?”
—…Yes.
I nodded.
“Fine. I’ll investigate whether what you say is true, and if it is, I won’t. But whoever I catch, I will kill.”
—I can’t let that happen.
“Why?”
—No matter how bad they are, they’re our race. We should kill them. And, you’d better follow my advice.
“…”
I quieted down for a moment. What she said bothered me.
“Is that a threat? Do you know who I am?”
—It’s not a threat. It is a fair exchange.
“Exchange.”
-Yes.
Then she snapped her finger. As her mana flowed, a certain image floated in the air. It was an image of an imprisoned Yeriel.
“…”
—Tomorrow at this time. In a place out of Reccordak’s gaze, we’ll exchange the hostages.
I looked at her. My expression turned cold as rage welled inside me. She continued to move her fingers.
—If you don’t accept this exchange, we will reveal to the world what you do not know.
“…What I don’t know?”
—Yes.
I crossed my arms. She glanced me up and down before responding.
—Your younger sister Yeriel is not of Yukline blood.
“…”
I already knew that fact. Even so, it shouldn’t be revealed to others.
The wood steel in my arms emanated a murdering aura.
—Also, Yeriel’s bloodline…
The moment when I fired my steel with the intent to kill her-
—She’s from our race, that is, the Demon Blood.
The air in the mansion turned stagnant.