101 - Chapter 27: My Love Has Revealed Itself - Part One
With every thud, thud of the vibrations, pieces of the outer wall and dust fell in sprinkles from the ceiling of the royal capital's underground tunnels.
Looking at them illuminated by light magic, Geoglyph and Latia had this to say.
"They're really going at it, aren't they, Rei..."
"Lately, Kazuha has been influenced, or rather adapted, so there's no stopping them now..."
They held relatively carefree impressions.
"I-It'll be alright, right?"
In front of those two, a scrawny man looked back anxiously. It was Io.
After splitting into three groups, they had decided to head underground by following the traces of Alberstein's mana paths, and in doing so, they happened to run into Io, who had crawled out to the surface.
Having guided Beosteral halfway, he had narrowly escaped with his life from the collapse caused by Alberstein ascending to the heavens on his way back.
The underground tunnels themselves were safe, but the great cavern had reportedly collapsed. Upon hearing this explanation, Geoglyph and the others requested that he guide them halfway.
Io initially refused, feeling his own danger, but thanks to the information that the civil war had ended and the physical persuasion of the Demon King, who valued haste, he readily accepted.
And so he was guiding them again, but for a while now, he couldn't help but be concerned about the destructive activities──── or rather, the mop-up operation, no, the rescue operation taking place on the surface.
"Who knows? Well, if you're worried, just guide us underground quickly."
"I understand..."
However, Geoglyph remained indifferent, and Io, faced with a physical "chat" accompanied by mana, returned to leading them with a reluctant look.
Meanwhile, Geoglyph was perplexed by Latia's frequent glancing. It hadn't been like that immediately after they joined up, but from that strategy meeting until now, something about her behavior had been strange.
He tried some misplaced conjectures, such as whether she had a strange bedhead, but he simply couldn't figure it out. Having no choice, he decided to ask her directly.
"By the way, Lati. You've looked like you wanted to say something for a while now, what's up?"
"Ah, yeah, well, you see?"
Asked that, Latia's ear twitched, and after hesitating for a moment, she asked this.
"You seem to get along well with Countess Radock, does Geo like that kind of woman?"
At those words, after a moment's pause, Geoglyph's understanding caught up and he practically spat blood. Rather than a healthy reason like a little jealousy being cute, being told he was a good match for Julia seemed to cause greater damage, and he screamed with all his soul.
"T-That's a joke! Who would like a black-hearted vixen like that!"
"But, somehow, it was like when she says this, you say that, or like a bell ringing when struck, you two seemed to understand each other strangely well..."
"Lati! You're still young among elves so you might not understand, but a high level of mutual understanding and a high level of affection aren't necessarily proportional...!?"
To Latia, who tilted her head as if asking "Is that so?", Geoglyph let out a sigh.
"It's true that she and I have similar political perspectives and preferred methods, but that's exactly why, because our positions are different, we can never be compatible. Personally, I could count her as a colleague, but I wouldn't want her as family."
"Self-loathing?"
"I don't really want to admit it... but you could call it that."
It was likely due to her background of building a track record as a Royal Guard and then marrying into the frontier. Julia Radock was the type who didn't choose her means and could switch between ideals and reality.
That meant, without further ado, she possessed a thought process close to that of the politician he had been in his previous life. If one doesn't make ideals their pledge, votes won't gather, but if one turns a blind eye to reality, practical affairs won't function.
She knew that from experience, and depending on the case, she possessed the breadth of mind to bow her head to others without hesitation.
Setting aside personality and such, Geoglyph marveled that this was the first time since reincarnating that someone had kept up with his thinking so quickly based on execution power. Even in his hometown, he would have had to show his abilities several times for it to become like that.
However, liking someone's ability and liking their personality are separate issues.
"Besides, generally my preference is────"
"Your preference?"
As he started to speak to explain that, Geoglyph hesitated, realizing that an embarrassing line had almost passed through his throat in the heat of the moment. However, noticing Latia's upward glance as if urging him, he opened his mouth as if resigning himself.
"Ah, ahem, yeah. It's you, you. Yeah. So, you don't have to worry. There's absolutely no way I'd be swayed by a black-hearted woman like that."
"Geo..."
Overcome with emotion, Latia tried to snuggle up to Geoglyph, and Geoglyph, while looking embarrassed, tried to open both arms to welcome her, but.
"Could you please stop flirting behind my back...!!"
Checked by Io, who was leading the way, the two of them abruptly distanced themselves. Io, whose existence had been completely forgotten, glared at the two, but they only looked away.
Seeing that it was like pushing a curtain, Io was exasperated and was about to return to leading them when it happened.
"Haa. Well, whatever. ────We're almost there... eh?"
The path they should follow, illuminated by light magic, was completely closed. It had likely been crushed due to the influence of the collapse. At this rate, they couldn't proceed to the altar, which was the center of the mana path.
"This is... in a sense, as expected."
"The collapse has blocked the way..."
That said, such a giant earthworm had appeared from underground. They had imagined that it wouldn't be unscathed.
Therefore, Geoglyph took out the Night Sky's Sovereignty from his storage magic.
"Haa, it can't be helped. Well then, shall we dig?"
"With that staff?"
To Io, who had a face that said "You're joking, right?", Geoglyph pointed the tip of the staff toward the underground.
"Of course not. Once, a great magic cannon girl I knew made a path with wall-piercing. I'm just following her example."
Magic girl? Wall-piercing? While Latia and Io looked at each other, Geoglyph wore an evil smile.
"Stack────Decode."
A light-attribute cannon magic specialized in penetration, super-converged in the Night Sky's Sovereignty, was fired with a pink phosphorescence, piercing through rubble, bedrock, and strata, all the way to the vicinity of the fault in the deep underground.
It was like a light that shatters stars.
●
Lumilia regained consciousness with the feeling of a lukewarm breeze and a hard floor.
It should have been daytime, but it was strangely dim. The amount of light was straight ahead, directly above, but seeing that it was meager for a sun and losing to the surrounding darkness, she thought something was wrong.
It should have been daytime until a moment ago. And she should have been facing the leader of the enemy army one-on-one────.
"W-Where is this...!"
Remembering that, Lumilia sat up abruptly, and what jumped into her field of vision was a dim darkness and the splashing sound of water. Then, a sound like steam hissing and an unpleasant odor.
What she could vaguely see was a sight like the night sea. Since there is no sea in Alberstein, she had only heard of it in stories, but she wondered if this was meant to incite anxiety and fear.
There were no injuries. What she was sitting on seemed to be hard bedrock. However, before losing consciousness, she should have been at the main camp──── a corner of the plain. She had no memory of such bedrock.
What on earth happened──── as she turned her thoughts inquisitively.
"Oh, a late awakening."
"Gar-Grandpa...!?"
"Despite being a civil official, I pushed myself a bit too much. Goodness, one really doesn't want to grow old."
A voice called out from behind, and when Lumilia, who recognized the voice, looked back, an unbelievable sight was there.
A wall of flesh with veins protruding like a living creature. There, the owner of the voice────Gardel Vertex was half-swallowed.
There was no mouth. Only short tentacles growing from the flesh wall were wriggling, and Gardel's right half of his body was already enveloped.
"I was swallowed. By the Spirit Dragon Alberstein."
"Eh...?"
Before Lumilia could voice her question about what on earth happened, Gardel gave the answer.
"There was no time to observe leisurely, but I saw a giant mouth attack the main camp as a whole. In this land, the only creature that large would be the Spirit Dragon Alberstein."
"T-That's... there should have been no signs of revival yet."
"It was probably that fool Fritz. I had dispatched my people to take him down, but it seems they failed. My apologies."
"Ah..."
Seeing Gardel with a remorseful expression, various pieces of information surfaced in Lumilia's mind, and they were connected by a single line.
The rise of the Prime Minister's faction──── however, the lineup of the gathered nobles. The flight from the royal capital──── though a small elite, the success of the escape from almost the entire army. As if timed, Julia Radock appeared, and the Royalists had already finished their preparations for resistance. Although several irregularities overlapped, the end of the war was decided like a predetermined harmony.
And now. Despite being swallowed by a giant creature, herself being safe, and Gardel, while half-dead, not showing any unsightly state.
"No way."
"Just before being swallowed, I cast a barrier and created a foothold with earth-attribute magic... but I didn't think the stomach wall would also move to kill the prey. I was caught pathetically."
Just before being caught, he had pushed Lumilia away to protect her as if shielding her with his own body, but it seemed he was too slow to escape and was caught by the stomach wall's tentacles.
His intention was unknown, but he was merely restrained by the tentacles. However, he told her that when he tried to escape, he was pulled with tremendous force, making escape difficult.
"Then..."
If this is a farce, then as my subject again──── just as Lumilia was about to say, Gardel shook his head as if to stop her.
"In any case, someone was needed to take the blame collectively. It just so happened that I was the suitable person. From now on, it is your era. We of the old shall simply vanish."
"Please don't say such things! I-I'll save you now!"
"Do not come closer!!"
"!?"
To Lumilia, who leaned forward to save Gardel, he shouted with an unbelievable volume. Lumilia, who had never been yelled at so much, instinctively shrank back and stopped moving.
"────Listen, Princess. I can no longer be saved. However, right now, it seems the Spirit Dragon is taking a break from eating. If you can go up along the wall, you might be able to get out through the mouth. If you are alone, you should be able to fly if you fairy-ize."
"B-But...! I can't just leave Grandpa Gar..."
Before she could say she couldn't go, the sound of water began to echo somewhere far away. If the splashing until now was a ripple, this was like the precursor to a flash flood.
Noticing this, Gardel took on a stern expression and immediately began chanting.
"Nu. It's come again...! I seek a rampart...! 'Reason-Force Wall'!!"
Immediately after, an invisible barrier enveloped the surroundings, protecting the two from the pale green liquid. The liquid that flowed in increased in volume up to their waists all at once, and then gradually increased further.
"This is...!"
"It seems to be the creature's gastric juice! It has been filling and receding like a tide for a while now! However... this is more than before!!"
The volume increased moment by moment, and this time there was no sign of it receding. There was likely no will in the biological functions, but Gardel felt a murderous intent as if it were determined to dissolve them this time.
"Princess, hurry and fairy-ize...! I've blocked it several times already, so my mana won't hold much longer! I'll open a hole at the top of the barrier! Please escape through there!!"
"N-No! I know! If I also cast a barrier together, we can endure...!"
"Enough of this foolishness! Do not think that one without power can have their way! In a situation where even your own self is in danger, how could you save anyone else! If you are weak, you should only think of yourself!"
The volume of gastric juice finally exceeded the top of Lumilia's head. There was less than one meter left until the height of the barrier.
"And if that is frustrating, become strong someday and save those without power──── the people! Have your way as much as you like!! Until then────!!"
Finally, the barrier began to flicker. In proportion to the water pressure of the gastric juice, Gardel's mana consumption was increasing exponentially. Depletion was imminent. If that happened, it was obvious that Lumilia would be dissolved in the gastric juice along with him.
"It is the duty of a subject to protect and support the one who becomes King...!!"
But sadly, for Gardel, who had only learned magic for self-defense as a noble involved in politics, the limit came quickly.
Even so, he gritted his teeth and maintained the barrier. Perhaps he was converting even his life force into mana, as blood spurted from every hole in his body, yet he still whipped his old bones to squeeze out mana.
Was it stubbornness, pride, loyalty, or perhaps all of them that made this possible?
In any case.
"────In the name of the Cathedra bloodline, I pray for wings of light."
Lumilia, who had kept her mouth in a straight line, finally spoke. Hearing that chant, Gardel wore a smile.
It was the secret art of the Great Fairies. Transformation magic to take a form for connecting with the Spirit Tree Sika-reim.
"Luminous Wing...!"
Along with the powerful words, Lumilia was enveloped in light, which eventually became a sphere of light. And without waiting for the displacement of fairy-ization, she jumped into the hole opened at the top of the barrier.
Behind her back.
"Farewell, Princess."
The voice of a loyal subject pretending to be a villain was thrown, and by the time Lumilia looked back, he had already sunk into the gastric juice and disappeared from sight.
●
Meanwhile, Shannon, who was waiting at the entrance of the royal capital, was glaring at the Spirit Dragon Alberstein coiled around the royal castle.
"Haste makes waste, you know."
"Marie. You say that, but how long should I wait?"
Being called from the side, she asked Marianne in an impatient manner.
Having split into three groups, two groups had already started acting. In the midst of that, Shannon and Marianne were standing still at the entrance of the royal capital.
As for Shannon, she wanted to attach herself to that Spirit Dragon as soon as possible and move to rescue Lumilia. However, when asked specifically how she would do it, she had no words to return.
After all, look at that huge body. Even if she tried to pierce the belly, as the name 'Dragon' suggests, the whole body was covered in scales, and not only blades but even magic wouldn't pass properly. To top it off, it was launching those scales as vanguard, and those peeled scales were recovering with extraordinary regeneration ability, and the soft body surface was exposed for only a few seconds.
Even if she could strike there, it would be recovered immediately. Currently, direct attack is not the best strategy. If they were to do it, it would be after Geoglyph cut off the mana path.
In that case, the oral cavity, namely destruction from the inside, is the standard way, but that weak point entry is currently facing the heavens. Even if she tried to climb up, it was higher than the top of the royal castle. Shannon alone couldn't do anything about it.
In the midst of that, she ended up waiting, following Marianne, who said there was a way.
She had said she would first investigate the Spirit Dragon, but she was just waiting without doing anything.
At least that's how it looked to Shannon. However, Marianne had already started acting.
"I didn't tell you. My true specialty is summoning."
"Eh?"
"────Come, Ipos."
Words that didn't suit her, who had been swinging a 100t hammer, came out, and Shannon was stunned, but in the next moment, a shadow emerged slitheringly from beneath Marianne's feet.
The shadow, as if it possessed viscosity, immediately formed a shape. It was a giant eagle made of shadow with a wingspan exceeding ten meters. Two people could easily ride it.
"No way, are we infiltrating with this?"
"It seems to be taking a nap with its mouth open. A surprise attack from above with this child, rescuing Princess Lumilia inside the belly and withdrawing would be the fastest way."
"Then...!"
"Even if you go, you still won't know the location. That's why I'm telling you to wait until I investigate that."
"Ugh..."
While Marianne was exasperated, hiding her mouth with a folding fan and thinking "She's really rushing," a man stood in their way.
"────Yo. Are you ready, Shannon?"
He was a giant with black hair. Carrying a long spear on his shoulder, though covered in wounds, he was staring at Shannon as if glaring.
"Master..."
While Marianne tilted her head, wondering "Who is this?", Shannon spoke as if squeezing the words out. I see, so that's the Richter Centaur I've heard rumors about, Marianne nodded and called out to him.
"So, what business do you have? We have to go rescue Princess Lumilia."
"Sorry, I have no business with you, girl. What I have is with that idiot disciple over there."
It seemed to be a personal matter, but since he was clad in bloodlust, it probably wasn't for a gentle reason.
Additionally, the timing was a bit bad right now.
"Do you think I'll allow such selfishness?"
"!?"
Along with the murmur of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, shadow beasts appeared one after another from the shadow beneath Marianne's feet.
"I'm quite busy right now. If you obstruct me for a half-baked reason, I won't show mercy."
She tried summoning them all to check her condition, and there was no problem. I still don't understand the cause of the teleportation phenomenon, Marianne was troubled inwardly, while Richter took a step back. By the way, Shannon was completely put off.
"This one... I'm beat. After a brat like a God of War, now a Queen of Shadows. What is going on today?"
"If you've understood the difference in power, could you please step back? The Prime Minister's faction has been crushed."
"Sorry, but that's a request I can't grant."
Although he was intimidated, Richter still didn't seem inclined to bend his will.
"As affiliated forces, we are hostile, but my goal wasn't that in the first place. It's a matter of settling things between master and disciple. Outsiders should butt out."
He readied his spear, completely in combat stance. He probably wouldn't withdraw even knowing he'd lose in numbers. Marianne felt that kind of determination.
Honestly, searching for Lumilia would take a bit more time. Searching blindly inside that huge body would take until sunset.
It would be less effort to confirm the location, if possible restrain her there, and if she can move, guide her to the exit.
Therefore, they would wait for a while longer.
If he had just come to obstruct them, she intended to kick him away without indulging him, but the spirit she felt from Richter was different from that.
If anything, it should be called passion, she felt that kind of obsession.
(Though they're quite far apart in age for it to be a matter of love...)
Could he be a lolicon? she wondered, but then thought he wouldn't point a spear at Shannon if that were the case, and Marianne nodded quietly.
"────Very well. Shannon-chan. Please deal with him."
She took a few steps back and dismissed all the shadow beasts.
"I'm grateful."
To Richter, who was blatantly relieved, Shannon took a step forward.
"Master, why now..."
"You still call me master even at this stage. Then, you're still half-baked."
To Shannon, who held her magic spear while confused, Richter spat out while keeping his spear ready.
"Why? There's no need for us to fight anymore...!"
"What were you listening to? I said it's a matter of settling things between master and disciple. What does the Royalist or Prime Minister's faction have to do with it?"
"Settling things..."
"I ask again. Are you ready, Shannon?"
"Ready for what?"
"What else is there besides Princess Lumilia?"
Shannon was bewildered by that question, and Marianne, who was an outsider, understood. She had understood.
(Ah, I see. How clumsy. ────Though I don't dislike it)
Since she was originally a man, she understood. She understood too well. This is a parting. That is what he desires. His own feelings, and his relationship with Shannon.
If it cannot reach, he will let it end while keeping it secret, while it is still beautiful. If possible, by becoming an aid to the woman he loved. If he were to say it here, he probably intends to push Shannon's back.
To put it nicely, it's gallant. To put it badly, he gives up too quickly.
(Even if it were the opposite, that would be elegant in its own way... I see, Richter Centaur. Your aesthetics chose that path)
That way of being certainly resonated in the heart of the human known as Marianne Romanet. Though it was a nuisance, she simply couldn't hate him.
"For what purpose are you going to rescue the Princess?"
However, Shannon, who had no way of knowing such a man's aesthetics, was only confused.
"F-For what purpose... Lady Lumilia is the royalty of this country!? What else could there be!?"
At those words, two sighs overlapped. Richter and Marianne. The main actor and the outsider, noticing each other's, exchanged glances and smiled bitterly.
"Get ready. It seems it would be for your happiness if I killed you here."
And so, one clumsy man released bloodlust and took on the role of the villain.
For a love that was out of his league, and to settle his own role──── killing even that.
To be continued next week.