Chapter 72 - The Defense of Nielen and Levante vs. Men in Black
How should we fight this? The enemy seemed to be waiting for us to make the first move. They weren't budging. This would probably end in a clash of special skills, meaning the fight should be over quickly.
"Mizuki, Fam, and I will take the front. Maira, Aira, I need your support." The two of them nodded.
"What about me?" Cecily asked.
"The usual. And drink a mana potion." Cecily nodded, and I passed them out to her, Aira, and Maira.
"Fam and I will take Fang."
"I'll fight Task," Mizuki declared. I nodded to her.
"Fam, if you get an opening, aim for the priest in the back." Fam nodded.
Just as I drew my katana, Cecily launched a fireball at the Men in Black. Mizuki, Fam, and I charged right after it. Almost simultaneously, our bodies began to glow faintly with the protection magic cast by Maira and Aira.
A wall that looked like it was made of glass appeared in front of Fang and Task. It had to be a magic barrier created by the priestess, Doris. The fireball slammed into the barrier and erupted in flames. Fam and I veered left to avoid it while Mizuki went right.
The werewolves were gone. In their place, the tall man in black, Kei, stood waiting for us. Fam and I lunged at him.
"Fools!" Kei swung one of his arms. "My special skill is modest in power, but I can fire it rapidly. Eat this, [Pile Rain]!"
Three enormous stakes materialized in the air. They were about ten centimeters in diameter and over two meters long. Modest in power? What a sick joke. A direct hit would mean instant death. As Kei swung his arm down, they shot toward us. At this range, dodging was impossible.
"Special skill, [Yata Mirror]!" Fam shouted. A shining, circular plate appeared before us.
The stakes flew toward it, and just as I thought they'd been absorbed, they were repelled, flying right back at Kei.
"Gah!" Two of the reflected stakes missed and embedded themselves in the wall behind his group, but one pierced Kei's right shoulder. Kei was blown back by the impact and collapsed.
The mirror that had repelled the attack vanished. Fam, who had unleashed the special skill, crumpled to the ground. Did she use up all her mana, just like with my goddess summoning? As I thought that, my vision narrowed, turning dark and murky.
"Mash, the mage is using a mental attack! Stay strong!" Was that Isaac's magic? And was that Aira's voice? Easier said than done. A heavy drowsiness was making me lose consciousness. Just as I was about to collapse like Fam, I snapped back to my senses and held my ground.
"I've cast a mental defense blessing on you." Maira's voice came through clearly.
I tightened my grip on my katana. But Fam was still down. Doris swung her staff down, trying to strike her. I barely managed to parry the blow with my sword. I tried to counterattack, but she sensed she was at a disadvantage and backed away.
I tried to pull Fam back to safety, but she barely moved.
"She's heavy…"
"I'll help!" Maira rushed over.
Leaving Fam and Doris to Maira, I surveyed the situation. Kei was still down, showing no signs of moving. The clang of metal had been ringing out for a while now. Mizuki was holding her own against the two werewolves. She was weathering a fierce, relentless assault from both of them. She was completely on the defensive, but she was blocking every single one of their attacks.
"Her eyes are glowing! Watch out, she's using a special skill, too!" the stout man, Mii, shouted from the rear. His polite tone was gone. Kei getting taken down must have shaken his composure. His voice made the werewolves hesitate, and their attack stopped. Mizuki seized the opportunity and slashed at Task. Task tried to block her sword with his axe, but her blade's trajectory shifted, slipping past his defense and piercing his chest. [Super Kill], which had a chance to instantly kill an enemy, had activated.
"This is bad!" I muttered. The very thing I'd feared most had happened so easily. Mizuki was about to kill Task.
At least let me share the burden. I rushed to Task's side and slashed at the back of his neck. Caught in a pincer attack from me and Mizuki, Task collapsed.
"You bastards!" Fang roared.
"Listen to me, Mii! This is what happens when you don't back down!" I shouted.
Fang swung his axe at me. Mizuki jumped between us, deflecting the blow with her shield. She and Fang began to trade blows, but the sharpness in her movements was clearly gone. She was forced onto the defensive.
"What are you getting so worked up about? He just fulfilled his role as a wall," Mii replied. Is this guy going to say the same thing as Reed from Wind Blade?
"I'm going to cut you down!" I turned to face Mii. He took out the Crystal Core.
"Like hell you will!" I fired a stone sphere with my earth magic. Mii blocked it with his own body.
"Damn it!" I heard someone cry out.
I couldn't let Mii use his special skill. It was a risk, but I had to trust Mizuki to handle Fang and rushed toward him. Isaac stepped between us. A fireball appeared at the tip of his staff. Before I could defend, my body was engulfed in flames. It was burning hot. I was going to die.
"Mash! You have a blessing on you! Endure it!" Aira's shout echoed. An impossible demand. I swung my katana wildly, trying to beat back the flames.
"Die!" Isaac launched another fireball. But it was nullified by a sphere of water that flew from behind me—water magic from Cecily. Having shaken off the flames, I slashed at Isaac. It was shallow; I'd only managed to cut his robe. He backed away, putting distance between us.
"Special skill, [Crystal Control]!" The Crystal Core in Mii's hand began to glow brighter. I had to cut him down before the skill activated. I closed the distance.
"Destroy it!"
A double-layered magic barrier, cast by Maira and Aira, appeared between Mii and me. But the countless beams of light from the Crystal Core shattered it effortlessly, and one of them pierced my abdomen. A deafening impact roared. The light beam destroyed a church pillar and blew a hole in the wall.
"Guh…" I clutched my stomach and dropped to one knee. Blood poured from the wound. I looked around and saw Maira lying on the ground, shielding Fam. Mizuki and Fang, who had been fighting her, were also down. In the back, Aira was supporting Cecily with her shoulder. The sight made my blood run cold.
"You son of a bitch!" I swung my katana in a rage, but it had no speed, no edge. Mii easily dodged it.
"The tables have turned, haven't they?" Mii's lips twisted into an ugly smile. "One more!"
Just as Mii shouted, a fireball launched by Cecily caught him.
"Gya!" Mii shrieked as his face was burned.
"Mash, get up!" It seemed Aira had cast a healing spell on me. The pain subsided, and my body felt a little lighter. I summoned my remaining strength and stood up. Mii had also recovered and was raising the Crystal Core to fire another beam. A magic barrier cast by Doris appeared between us.
I didn't care. This was the chance Cecily and Aira had made for me. One blow. I'd cut through the barrier and him with a single strike. I raised my katana high, and as I stepped forward, I brought it down with all my might. The tip shattered the magic barrier and reached Mii. The Crystal Core fell from his hand. And then, he himself collapsed.
My body swayed; the wound wasn't fully healed. Blood was still flowing from my body. I forced myself to raise my katana again and pointed its tip at Isaac. He dropped his staff and raised both hands. "The two transferees are down. And you didn't even use a special skill. We don't stand a chance. I surrender."
I looked around. Fam, Maira, and Mizuki were on the floor. Cecily was leaning on Aira, bleeding from her left arm and right leg. I fought back the urge to cut Isaac down right there. I turned my blade to Doris. She also dropped her weapon and raised her hands.
The pain returned, surging through me. I couldn't support myself any longer and collapsed.
When I opened my eyes, Fam was looking down at me.
"Master… Master!" She squeezed my hand, which she was already holding tightly.
I seemed to be lying in a bed, apparently in a guest room. I sat up and stroked Fam's cheek.
"I'm glad you're safe."
"Yes. After I used my special skill, I was put to sleep by Isaac's magic." So it wasn't that she had exhausted her mana.
"Fam, I'm so glad." I hugged her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me back. After savoring her warmth, I looked around the room. Three beds had been brought in, and Maira and Mizuki were asleep in the ones next to me. A tightness gripped my chest, making it hard to breathe.
"They're both fine. The priest healed them."
"What about Aira and Cecily? Cecily was injured, too."
"Cecily's injuries were less severe than yours, so she's recovered. People injured in the fight with the Big Hoppers are being brought to the church now. Aira is helping out with the healing, and Cecily is assisting her."
"I see," I nodded.
"Is the battle outside still going on?"
"It seems so. The number of Big Hoppers in the city has decreased, but…" The situation hadn't changed much since before we fought Mii's group. I must not have been out for very long. With no solution other than total annihilation, the fighting would only intensify. In a way, you could say the Big Hoppers were victims in all this.
"The Men in Black. What about them?"
"After that, Hyakka-san and her group came. They gave them first aid and took them away. They're going to be imprisoned, apparently. I'm sorry, I was still asleep at the time, so this is just what I heard." Fam said, handing me the Crystal Core. The one Mii had been holding. I wondered how much it would sell for. There was nothing I could do with it now, so I put it in my storage for the time being.
"Did they take everyone?"
"No. Isaac escaped in the confusion after you collapsed. And Task wasn't captured either… the werewolf." Isaac was the mage who surrendered. Task was the one who went down after taking Mizuki's special skill.
"Is he dead?"
"…Yes." Fam nodded. So everyone but Task was alive. I had thought Kei was dead for sure. My cut on Mii was shallow because of the barrier. And since Mizuki was okay, I figured Fang was probably alive too.
I thought I would feel a deep sense of guilt for killing Task, but right now, I felt nothing. It was the same as when I killed a monster. Have I become desensitized to this world? But I was worried about how Mizuki felt.
"So that means the others are alive." When I checked just to be sure, Fam nodded again.
"Master. Are you thinking of helping them?" I pondered Fam's words for a moment.
"Fang and Doris are slaves. If they were just forced into it, I want to help them. But the others…" I thought they couldn't be allowed to live, but I fell silent. Now that I knew my friends were safe, the earlier urge to cut down Isaac had vanished. But that feeling might change if there were casualties among the Mateo Trading Company, the Wandering People, or Hyakka's group in the battle outside.
"Master. This time again, you tried to avoid the fight and save your opponents at first."
"I'll be honest with you, Fam. It wasn't that I was trying to save them. I thought we would lose this time, and even if we won, it wouldn't be without a cost. I still hate hurting people, and I hate seeing you hurt people, too." I said Fam, but I felt that way about everyone.
"I guess I'm still too soft."
"My feelings about not forgiving those who raise their blades against you haven't changed, Master. But I understand your feeling that you shouldn't kill people. This is not a pleasant outcome…"
"…I see." I nodded.
"And also… I'm sorry. I can't put this into words very well." Having been unconscious, she was able to view the battle with the Men in Black objectively and must have had her own thoughts on the matter.
"But knowing this, I think I will become weaker."
I placed a hand on Fam's head. "It's okay. Neither you nor I will get any weaker than we already are."
"Muuu…" Fam puffed out her cheeks.
I got out of bed and stood up. I gazed at Maira and Mizuki's sleeping faces. I was truly glad they were safe. But I had made Mizuki do something terrible. A wave of regret washed over me. I should have avoided that fight at all costs. If I told her that I was the one who delivered the final blow to Task, would she believe me? I placed a hand on Mizuki's cheek.
Just then, Cecily and Aira entered the room.
"Looks like you're okay," Cecily said with a tone of relief. I nodded.
"I'm going to check on the west wall."
"Right now?" Fam asked as I spoke.
"Yeah. I told them I'd be a hero." I nodded to Fam, then looked again at Mizuki and Maira.
"Cecily, Aira, please watch over them."
"I'm going too," Cecily said.
"Alright. Then, Aira, I'm counting on you for these two."
I want to end this battle. I left the church with Fam and Cecily.
Thank you for reading. To everyone who has liked, bookmarked, and rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me to keep going. I'll do my best.