Chapter 261 - The Battle for Migul and Sameim's Elegy
The fog dissolved into the sunlight, and the damp buildings and stone pavement reflected the light. The morning was filled with a brilliant radiance.
And yet, the people gathered in the square were panting raggedly, craving a massacre.
As the Crimson Brigade poured into the square, the hidden Wandering People began to shower them with arrows. Several soldiers fell, but the rest immediately raised large shields above their heads and continued their advance.
There were so many of them. If this turned into a full-scale battle, we'd likely be overwhelmed by their numbers.
“Took you longer than I thought, Kaima.”
The man Yuuki spoke to was undoubtedly the same one who had been with Ilisarie yesterday morning. Ilisarie had introduced him as a hero from another world. However, the man was short, and his dark eyes were a far cry from the word ‘hero.’
“Kaima…”
I muttered the man’s name under my breath, committing it to memory.
“I was held up. It’s because you underestimated the enemy’s strength. If we pull out, House Airally’s army can’t beat House Wanland. The coup will fail.”
Despite his words to Yuuki, Kaima’s expression remained flat, as if he had no interest in the outcome of this battle.
“All we need is to take control of this Crystal Garden temporarily. There are three groups of heroes summoned by the goddess. We’ve confirmed another group is outside the city. As long as we take care of this bunch, there won’t be a problem.”
“I see.”
Kaima nodded, still looking disinterested. But Yuuki turned a triumphant face toward me.
“There’s no escape for you.”
He wore a twisted smile. However, my gaze was fixed on Kaima. The man had turned his back on us and was returning to command the Crimson Brigade.
“Why is a transfer student commanding a mercenary band?”
“You know Kaima is a transfer student?”
Yuuki’s eyebrows twitched in slight surprise.
“When? How long has that man been with the Crimson Brigade?”
“Five years. Why do you ask?”
Ignoring Yuuki’s mocking laughter, I glared at Kaima’s back.
“Are you the leader of the Crimson Brigade?!”
I shouted, but Kaima only glanced my way once before turning back to his soldiers and beginning to issue orders to eliminate the Wandering People and complete our encirclement.
“I’ll kill every last one of you!”
I was about to raise my hand to summon Racshell when Aira stopped my arm.
“Mash, calm down and defeat the enemy in front of you! We have to break the barrier of the caster hiding in the back, right?!”
The Goddess Summon was my trump card for breaking through Oi’s magical defense. But right now, I couldn’t care less about that.
“Shut up! These are the bastards who attacked Fam’s village and sold her into slavery! She was locked in a cage, told she would be dead the next day! How could I forgive that?! And it wasn't just her. Sameim, too, and the other villagers! My entire journey has been to kill these guys. I don’t give a damn about anything else. I don’t give a damn about this world! I’ll kill them. I’ll kill every last one of them!”
“I know! But that feeling alone won’t get us through this. For now, calm down.”
Aira shouted, but her words slipped past my ears, leaving nothing behind in my mind. Just the thought of slaughtering the Crimson Brigade. As I tried to raise my hand again to use Goddess Summon, Sameim, who had been held by Fam, broke free from her arms and started running.
“Sam!”
Fam began to chase after her.
Sameim picked up the small sword lying on the pavement and slashed at Fam as she tried to catch up.
“Kya!”
Fam shrieked and leaped back as her haori was sliced, the fabric fluttering in the wind. Sameim pointed the tip of her sword at Fam. Fam, in turn, instinctively raised her kunai.
“Stay away!”
Sameim’s face was contorted. A tear streamed down her cheek.
“Sam…”
“Fam… everyone has always loved you. I have no one. There’s no one left. You don’t know how I feel, being all alone. See, since that day, we just can’t understand each other anymore!”
For a moment, I thought Sameim glanced at me.
She turned and began to run again.
“Sam!”
Fam didn’t pursue Sameim. Or rather, Yuuki blocked her path, and she couldn't.
Fam seemed to forget about the fight, her arms hanging limp at her sides as she watched Sameim’s retreating figure in a daze.
Sameim ran without stopping. She ran past Kaima.
Her steps came to an abrupt halt. She spun around quickly, switching her grip on the small sword from one hand to two. She held it at her waist, tilted the blade slightly downward, and tightened her grip. She drew in her elbows, lowered her shoulders, and took a low stance.
The next moment, she kicked off the pavement and charged straight at Kaima.
“Kaima! Ever since I was bought by Zeno and saw you in that mansion, I’ve been waiting for this moment! I’ve lived for this moment! For everyone in the village, for my mother and father, and for Nick—this is for you!”
Their bodies collided, and moments later, fresh blood dripped from between them.
Her actions were apparently unexpected even for Clovis and Yuuki; they just stared at the scene in a daze.
Eventually, of the two, it was Sameim’s body that swayed and slowly crumpled to the ground.
The man was clutching the blade of the small sword, blood dripping from his hand. In his other hand, he held a spear, its tip smeared with Sameim’s blood.
“Sam!”
Fam’s scream tore through the air.
“Maira, Aira! Get Sameim!”
I shouted, but Maira was still engaged with her opponent. Aira, too, didn’t seem willing to leave my side.
Instead, it was Fam who ran. With swift movements, she darted past Yuuki.
She twisted her body, coiling it like a spring, and launched a kunai. Kaima casually knocked it aside with a single sweep of his spear.
Fam switched to her katana and closed in further, unleashing a horizontal slash. The man leaned back to dodge the single strike. He tried to switch to a two-handed grip on his spear, but his hand, deeply cut by the small sword, couldn't grasp it properly, and he clicked his tongue in frustration.
“How dare you… to our village… and to Sam!”
Fam took another strong step forward and brought her raised katana down.
“Kuh!”
The man raised his arm to block the blade. It sank deep but couldn’t cut all the way through, stopping midway. As Fam tried to pull the blade free, Kaima’s eyes glowed a dark red.
“Fam, he’s going to use his special skill! The one that destroyed the kitchen in Moos’s mansion!”
“I know!” Fam replied to my warning.
I tried to run to help her, but Yuuki blocked my path.
“Get out of the way!”
“Just watch. The dog-ear is going to die.”
I swung my katana, but he easily parried it with his greatsword. Just as I was about to attack Yuuki again, Kaima’s shout echoed.
“Special Skill, [Destructive Battleaxe]!”
A massive battleaxe materialized in the sky above. Its blade, easily ten meters long, swung down towards Fam.
Fam held a hand out in its direction.
“Special Skill, [Yata no Kagami]!”
A shining disc of light appeared between Fam and the battleaxe. It reflected Kaima’s special skill right back at him.
“This brat, she can use a special skill?!”
Kaima’s expression tightened. It was the first time I had seen him show any real emotion.
Fam yanked her katana free from the man’s arm. Then she raised it high above her head.
“W-wait!”
Ignoring Kaima’s plea, Fam swung her katana down. Kaima tried to block it with the shaft of his spear, but the blade cleaved the shaft in two and then sliced into his shoulder.
“Guah…”
Kaima’s body swayed. Fam’s blow had been shallow. Cutting through the shaft had diminished its force.
The special skills they had both unleashed had already vanished.
Fam raised her katana again to deliver the final blow. Its blade flashed, catching the sunlight.
Kaima’s arm shot up, and something was thrown at Fam. It was the kunai she had thrown at him. Fam deflected it with her katana.
In that split second, Kaima turned his back and ran.
“Wait!”
Fam started to give chase, but she was blocked by the mercenaries of the Crimson Brigade.
They thrust their spear tips at her, trying to run her through. Fam retreated to dodge them. But behind her, Clovis was closing in.
“Fam!”
Marmie’s shout rang out. Simultaneously, a bolt of lightning struck the ground around Fam with a deafening roar.
Several mercenaries fell victim to her lightning strike, but Clovis was unharmed. Fam failed to completely dodge his sword and was cut on her left arm.
“Die.”
Clovis’s cold voice echoed.
Clovis had his sword pointed at Fam.
My rage toward the Crimson Brigade, which had filled my mind, had mostly subsided when Fam charged in.
Watching the scene unfold, I knew this was the limit. The only way out of this was the Goddess Summon. There was no time to hold back.
If I wanted to defeat the Crimson Brigade surrounding us, I could use her rain of arrows. But that wouldn't break Oi’s magic barrier, and in the end, I'd lose my means of standing against the Messiah group. They had Yuuki and Oi’s special skills. My only option was to have her spear's power sweep away all the enemies in the square.
If it came to that, Racshell probably wouldn’t be able to hold back either.
If I killed Yuuki, Mizuki might hate me forever.
But Kaima was wounded. There was a chance he would escape the square. I couldn't let him get away. I had to capture him and make him pay for his crimes. And not just him. The Crimson Brigade had to be annihilated here and now.
As I thought all this, I laughed weakly.
We were the ones who were cornered. Yet even at a time like this, I was thinking about how to hold back. If I hesitated, we would die. I had to protect Levante, the New World group, and the Wandering People. I was responsible for dragging them all into this.
Just as I steeled my resolve, my eyes met Yuuki’s.
“You’re planning to use your trump card.”
“So what if I am?”
At my reply, Yuuki smiled defiantly.
“Have you forgotten? That I can use Goddess Summon, too?”
“You shouldn't. You haven’t tried it before, have you?”
“Idiot… I know how to summon her and how to use her. I’ll take your trump card from you.”
Yuuki threw his arm up.
“Special Skill, [Goddess Summon]!”
Yuuki’s voice echoed across the square.