Chapter 258 - The Siege of Migul, Clovis and Yuuki
We are heading toward the entrance of the Crystal Palace, the heart of the Crystal Garden. The remnants of night still stain the sky, but the darkness is gradually fading, and the eastern sky is beginning to whiten. The thin mist covering the ground has grown thicker, as if to accentuate the coming of morning, and it shimmers as it crawls across the stone pavement of the street. Marmie rubbed her eyes.
"Mo, are you sleepy?"
"…Mm, I'm okay. What about you, Mash?"
When she asked, I tried opening and closing my hands. My eyes were wide awake and I didn't feel sleepy, but my feet felt floaty. It was as if I were walking on mist instead of stone, and the ground felt far away. If I were to lie down, I'd likely fall asleep instantly.
"…Your eyes are red."
"Are they? Yours are a little red, too."
Marmie and I both rubbed our eyes with the backs of our hands, then turned our gaze to Maira.
"I'm fine, too. If it comes to it…"
Maira gripped her mace. Was that an unconscious gesture? Her expression seemed to soften, and she looked as if she was smiling. Was she already delirious from lack of sleep? I'd been through a lot while we were separated. I'm sure she'd been through things she hadn't told me about, too. Was this a sign of her resolve, or was she at the limit of her stamina? I started to worry a little.
"Hey, are you planning on knocking yourself out with that to stay awake? You'll never wake up again!"
"N-no, that's not it! Please don't imagine such strange things!"
Maira's face turned red as she denied it, loosening her grip on the mace. She, too, was at the peak of exhaustion.
"More importantly, I'm worried about the church. I wonder what's happening with Marianne's Wanland army and the Airally army."
Maira looked toward the hill where the government building was. I followed her gaze. The government building, towering over the hill, was still shrouded in darkness, untouched by the light of dawn. I couldn't see any army movements. But they wouldn't stay in that place forever. Our objective was a diversion, but I feel we were a little too quiet about it. In hindsight, we should have made a commotion to check their reaction and then fled, but we had too many people with us. The desire to avoid even a single casualty won out. I wonder if the liberation of the church is going well. With that thought, I shifted my gaze to Hyakka, who was walking with the New World members. She must also be at her peak of fatigue from the continuous battles. I had Takemura fall back to the rear with Doris to rest, but I thought it might be better to let her rest for a short while, too.
"What is it?"
Hyakka, noticing my gaze, responded in a slightly gruff manner.
"What do you mean, 'what is it'?"
"Ugh, what do I mean, 'what do I mean, 'what is it''… Don't make me waste my energy on this!"
Hyakka sighed and dropped her gaze to the road.
"Just a little more. Yuuki is at the entrance to the Crystal Palace. I have a feeling."
She is here to defeat Yuuki, who killed her comrades. Because of that, her usual good nature—or rather, her friendliness—has vanished, and she's become sharp and prickly. It felt like that was putting her in a dangerous position.
"Hyakka…"
"I said, what is it?"
"It's not over once you fight Yuuki, you know. After that, you're going to live as my sex slave, right?"
"Idiot! Who's a sex slave?! …But, if you love me, Mash, I guess that's fine too."
"Really? I'll tie you up, blindfold and gag you, drag you around, and then get you all sloppy and…"
"Hey! Stop with the weird fantasies, it's embarrassing!"
Hyakka interrupted me with a light tap on my chest with the back of her hand, then sighed deeply. Her reaction was subdued, maybe due to her exhaustion. I glanced at Chihiro, walking beside her. But he, too, just stared back with a tense expression. He had always been quiet around me, but I couldn't tell if his current reaction was an extension of that or something else. Just as I was about to check on the others, Maira pressed her shoulder against my arm.
"Mash, it's good that you're worried about others, but you look the most tired of all."
Her words made me realize that back in my original world, I had almost never shown any interest in other people. Have I changed without even noticing? The thought scared me a little.
We arrived at the plaza where the entrance to the Crystal Palace was located. The mist had grown thicker, becoming a fog that enveloped the plaza, obscuring our vision. There were no people in sight. The light of the sunrise was beginning to faintly pierce through the fog. It seemed to cast a deep silence over the entire plaza. I suddenly thought I saw a figure on the peak of the central, pyramid-shaped stone pedestal. I narrowed my eyes and focused my gaze. A gentle breeze flowed, momentarily clearing the fog. In that gap, I saw Clovis, his long black hair fluttering, and standing next to him, Yuuki. They looked as if they were standing on the clouds. The damp, cool air brushed against my skin. The pedestal was once again enveloped in fog, but the two figures did not disappear. Flanking them, the figures of a demon woman and a gaunt man emerged. The four shadows shimmered, silhouetted against the morning sun. I remembered confronting Clovis in this very place one night when I was chasing Samueim. We were in the opposite positions now.
"Yuuki!"
Hyakka shouted. At the same time, the New World members all raised their weapons.
"Hyakka, there should be a transferee who can put up a defensive barrier."
"I know!"
Hyakka gnashed her teeth, looking up at Yuuki and his group. We couldn't see it from here, but the barrier from the special skill of the girl named Oi would repel our long-range attacks and magic. There was a chance Chihiro's special skill, [Sword in White Sheath], could cut through the barrier with its sword aura, but if I waited a little longer, I would be able to use Goddess Summon. I wanted to stall for as long as possible.
"I don't see Mizuki…"
Yuuki muttered, his brow furrowed in confusion. Then he drew his greatsword.
"Perfect. You can all die here."
His dark, subdued voice, devoid of emotion, echoed across the plaza. Spurred by his words, Maira and Marmie also readied their respective weapons.
"Wait!"
I raised my arm, trying to calm the tension in the air as I looked around. Then I looked up at Clovis and his group.
"Zeno is dead. The battle for Migul is your loss. Surrender."
At my words, Clovis's eyes widened slightly.
"You defeated Zeno?"
"Spontaneous human combustion. He just burned up and died on his own!"
Of course, it was a lie. But I couldn't afford to make unnecessary enemies here. I wanted to persuade them with calm conversation. I tried to brush it off with a random excuse, but Maira and Marmie shot me a look, one eyebrow raised. I clicked my tongue inwardly. They, of course, knew the truth.
"…Very well. However, that is no reason for us to surrender."
If I recall, Zeno was Clovis's nephew. But his reaction was cold.
"You might not think so, but Yuuki, you said you would use the power of the Three Sacred Treasures in this world to 'rule this world, connect it to the original world, and dominate everything,' didn't you? And yet, you can't even assemble the treasures, nor can you conquer a small city like this. What you're thinking is nothing but childish madness."
At my words, Yuuki's eyes sharpened as he glared at me, but Clovis held out a hand as if to restrain his emotions.
"Talking about the end of the war, you're quite the hasty man. The battle is not yet over."
From the intonation of Clovis's words, I couldn't tell if he was serious or just trying to deflect with a makeshift excuse.
"Yuuki, do you know that transferees who come to this world can only live for ten years? It's the same for the transferees who came with you. You told Mizuki you've been in this world for six years, right? No matter what you wish for, you'll die in four years, still clutching that dream."
"That's the same for you, isn't it? But Clovis, the Linker, can handle the Three Sacred Treasures. My fate will change."
Yuuki replied.
"The Three Sacred Treasures were brought to this world, but not a single person has ever wielded them. Even the gods couldn't handle them and destroyed them. Why can you say that Clovis can handle them?"
I shifted my gaze from Yuuki to Clovis. He just looked down at me, his face like a Noh mask.
"I am the keeper of a divine oracle. I cannot entrust the future of this world to outsiders summoned by the Five Goddesses. This world belongs to us, the people who live in it."
"And this civil war is the result? How many people of this world do you think have been hurt?"
"A necessary sacrifice. It is not for you to interfere."
Receiving his words, I turned my gaze back to Yuuki.
"He can't even gather the Three Sacred Treasures, just plunging this city into civil war. This is that man's limit. At least I can return you all to your original world."
"What did you say?!" "What?!"
It was Yuuki, and then Hyakka, who cried out in surprise.
"You were hiding that from us?"
Hyakka said, as if interrogating me.
"No. I came up with it when I learned about your special skill, Hyakka. Your 'Prince Charming' skill, it allows you to sense your destination and head there, even if you don't know where it is, right?"
Hyakka chewed on her lip, mulling over my words.
"Don't tell me you're gonna order me to go to our original world? But we're completely cut off from it. Besides, I can't go long distances."
"We're not completely cut off. We're connected through the 'World of the Holy Oil Jar.' And the reason you can't travel long distances is just because the limit of your mana is the limit of your travel. There are ways to replenish your mana."
"But we can only go to the dungeons created there… wait, don't tell me!"
Hyakka's eyes widened. She, too, must have realized the potential of Toratsuna's special skill, [Yasakani no Magatama]. With his ability to reshape dungeons, we could access the space outside the dungeon.
"The World of the Holy Oil Jar is like outer space; there's no air. But with Racshell, travel is possible."
"Ah… so Chihiro and I can go back…"
Hyakka pressed a small, trembling fist to her chest, as if savoring my words. Her eyes wavered. It looked as if she was caught between this world and her original one. Had I ever talked to her about wanting to go back to our world? But seeing her reaction now, she must have had lingering attachments.
"But we don't know which timeline we'll go to."
"That's also decided. The timeline we can return to is the one we were transferred from."
"Is that so…"
Hyakka looked down with a troubled expression.
"From the past until now, all transferees have been transferred to this world from the same day, at the same time."
I turned my gaze to Yuuki.
"If you return to the other world and even a fraction of a second passes, you can never return to this one. That's why ruling both this world and the original world is impossible."
"That's not true. If we assemble the Three Sacred Treasures and activate the Ark, it should be possible to travel between worlds."
It was Clovis who answered instead. As always, his voice was cool and devoid of emotion.
"Have you tested it? Was it the Fifty Gods who told you that?"
"The Ark has, in fact, connected your world and this one."
"If that's the case, then I have all the more reason not to let you proceed. For the sake of my original world, I will stop you."
I drew my sword and pointed the tip at Clovis.
"Stop me…? Don't make me laugh."
Clovis scoffed. At that moment, a gust of wind blew in, and the fog erased our vision. When it cleared, besides the members of their Messiah group, a new party of adventurers had appeared.
"You all, kill the group with the woman who speaks in a Kansai dialect. We will kill the man's group."
The tall man who seemed to be the leader of the group nodded at his words.
"Are you sure? The enemy is not just them. They have a considerable number of hidden troops."
"In that case, another group…"
As Clovis muttered, another party of six appeared.
"You do not need to join the attack, but… if they interfere in our fight, dispose of them."
Before he had even finished speaking, Clovis and his group began to descend the stairs.
"Hyakka, be careful! Only another transferee would be able to distinguish your Kansai dialect!"
"I know. And Mash, if you care about me, you better not die here."
Listening to Hyakka's reply, I turned my gaze to Clovis and his group.
"That's cowardly! Hyakka's group is six against six, but we only have three people!"
"You are the one who challenged us to a fight."
Clovis pointed his thin sword at me.
"Kuh…"
As if swept along by the situation, I raised my sword. Maira stood beside me and readied her mace. Looking behind me, I saw Mo readying her wand, preparing a spell.
"I surrender. If I ask to be your ally, will you forgive me?"
I asked, not to Clovis or Yuuki in particular.
"After all that taunting, you're getting scared now?!"
Just as Yuuki raised his greatsword, someone from behind me shot an arrow at him. Yuuki deflected the attack with the flat of his blade, and a high-pitched metallic sound rang out. The projectile spun and stuck into the stone pavement between me and Yuuki. What I had thought was an arrow was a kunai. A dog-eared girl strode forward and pulled it out.
"Master. My apologies for being late. As Levante, we will fight alongside you."
She must have run here. Her voice was slightly strained. Fam pointed the tip of the kunai at Yuuki. And then, Mizuki, who had approached without me noticing, stood beside Fam and drew her sword.
"Fam, Mizuki!"
My excited voice echoed.
"Hey, how could you not call us when a situation like this is happening?"
A reproving voice came from behind. I slowly turned to see Cecily and Aira standing on either side of Marmie.