228 - Marina vs. Mei
――The group advancing through the forest was headed toward their destination, with several elves leading the way.
From the mercenary company and the adventurer party, the elves had been chosen to go ahead as scouts. The male-looking elves carrying bows nodded to one another and pressed forward.
They deactivated the traps Miranda had set for the sake of the main force following behind them.
A base for conquering the labyrinth, resembling a fort, came into view. Upon arriving at the base, one of them headed back to inform the main force of the safe route.
The elves waiting with their bows confirmed the Valkyries standing guard atop the walls.
"They look almost alive."
"In appearance, yes. But if you look closely, their movements are unnatural."
"Don't be fooled, youngster."
Though they looked young, it seemed some of the elves had reached a considerable age.
Then, a fellow elf returned, bringing the main force from the rear.
"Everything is on track. Though one person slipped and broke a bone."
Hearing this, the elves shrugged. To them, slipping in a forest like this was unthinkable. They assumed it must have been another race, such as a human, dwarf, or gnome.
One of them spoke.
"Good enough. There's always some idiot who drops out just from moving."
When the elf belonging to the mercenary company said this, the elf from the adventurer party tilted their head as if wondering, "Is that how it is?"
The mercenary captain and the leader of the adventurer party arrived from behind.
"How is it? Oh, they're quite vigilant, aren't they?"
The cheerful captain looked at the height of the walls with admiration.
"They've even prepared sentries. It's quite an elaborate setup for monster countermeasures. They might be anticipating an invasion from our side," the leader noted cautiously, and the captain nodded.
Nodding, the captain immediately prepared countermeasures for such a situation.
"Our mages are useful at times like this. They love a spectacle."
The leader agreed with the captain's opinion. Then, several mages walked up from the rear, spoke with the captain, and moved into positions surrounding the fort, taking elves and guards with them.
After a while, an elf near the captain spoke.
"Captain, the signal has arrived."
"Good work. Now, let's make this flashy!"
Immediately after, magic was unleashed from three locations. Water, like a flood, assaulted the fort, attempting to wash away the walls made of earth. Cracks formed in the walls, and as a section collapsed, several large boulders flew in next.
The boulders collided with the walls, causing both to crumble, and the sentries were blown away, creating the perfect opening for intrusion.
Finally, a rain of fire poured down upon the enemy camp. It flared up, becoming so bright that no other light was necessary.
Facing the mages who specialized in wide-area magic, the leader muttered.
"In our group, the places where we can use such things are limited. Conversely, those that are inconspicuous yet powerful are preferred... I see, so this is another way to use them."
He watched the mercenary company's combat with admiration. Mages who fight in narrow spaces, even as specialists, need ways to protect themselves. Furthermore, powerful magic in a limited area is preferred over wide-area magic. And precision was extremely important.
Otherwise, they might hit their own allies.
The captain spoke.
"Now then, shall we begin the advance?"
As he said this, he signaled for everyone to stop with his hand, and a single girl leaped out from the flames. Purple lightning crackled around her body, and her gaze was sharp. With the flames as her backdrop, the girl stood and looked at them in the forest.
The leader spoke.
"She was in the documents. That's Mei. To put her out so early, were they that vigilant?"
The captain spoke.
"Marina, the prey has appeared. If the corpse is in the form of a Kirin, I'm expecting a share."
Marina, appearing from behind the captain, was dressed in a coat with gauntlets and greaves. With her sleeves rolled up, she struck her right fist into her left palm.
"Do as you like. I'm only interested in the little girl while she's alive."
Saying so, Marina leaped out from the forest with incredible momentum, and Mei also kicked off the ground, thrusting her fist toward Marina.
When the two collided, Marina was pushed back slightly. Watching this, the captain gave orders.
"Alright, let's let a couple of people watch Marina fight. Let me know if she looks like she's going to lose. When she wins, secure the corpse. Leader-san, shall we split the share half and half?"
The leader, naturally knowing the information that there was a high possibility Mei was a Kirin, thought for a moment and decided to nod.
"I'll concede the horn. But I won't compromise on anything else."
"Let's decide the details later. Now, you bastards! It's time for a fun war!"
Adventurers leaped from the forest one after another, entering through the collapsed section of the wall—.
――Mei was being held back by Marina.
If they fought, she could win, but she was a troublesome opponent—that was Mei's evaluation of Marina. However, it seemed she needed to revise that evaluation.
When Mei kicked her, Marina crossed both arms to catch the kick. It should have had enough power to blow her away, but as Marina uncrossed her arms, Mei looked into her eyes and understood.
"It's just as Novem said. You're the opposite of me. Big sister, despite being human, you're trying to approach the state of a beast."
At Mei's honest opinion, Marina's muscles swelled and her canines became sharp. To Mei, it looked as if her black hair was standing on end, but the most extreme change was in her eyes.
Her pupils had become narrow vertical slits.
"You're a fool, kiddo... Humans are beasts once they shed a layer of skin."
Marina's skill—Beast—was a skill that emitted a beast-like aura along with physical enhancement.
Not only was her physical strength enhanced, but her flexibility increased as well. And she became more bellicose.
As Marina kicked off the ground and closed in on Mei, Mei unleashed a kick. Marina also unleashed a kick, intentionally engaging in a contest of strength.
Then, Marina, who had been losing in power until a moment ago, had now reached a point where she was equal to Mei.
"That's too obvious!"
Mei thrust her fist forward, and Marina caught it with her palm.
Mei's fist made a creaking sound, and Marina threw Mei away just like that. The direction she was thrown was toward the forest, moving her away from the base.
Just before hitting a tree, Mei corrected her posture in mid-air and moved as if landing on the tree with both feet.
The tree shook from the impact, but as Mei looked up, she sensed Marina was already right there.
Marina unleashed a kick aimed at Mei, and when Mei dodged it, the kick hit the tree, snapping it.
The tree, which was not a dead one, fell, scattering splinters and leaves.
"...Amazing. What stage is that?"
Mei asked what stage Marina's skill was, and Marina answered dutifully.
"Still the first. You're a Kirin, right, kiddo? I trust you'll let me go all the way."
Seeing Marina's grinning expression, Mei thought.
(There are occasionally these kinds of outliers. They're truly troublesome.)
Mei sent purple lightning crackling around her, attempting to blow Marina away with magic. However, Marina charged at Mei regardless.
The purple lightning scorched Marina's coat and burned her skin. Yet, Marina was laughing.
Against Marina, who unleashed a roundhouse kick and then a spinning back kick, Mei stepped back and produced a horn from her right hand.
Mei had no intention of competing in hand-to-hand combat, so she attempted to cut her down immediately.
"It'll go against Novem's instructions, but big sister is dangerous, so I'll end this here for you."
At those words, Marina let out a joyful laugh.
"This is interesting, kiddo! If you're going to end it... you're more than welcome!"
When Mei swung the Kirin's sharp, blade-like horn horizontally, Marina caught it with her gauntlet. There was power. And naturally, there was sharpness.
Though the Kirin's horn was Mei's weapon, it was blocked by Marina's gauntlet. As Mei's eyes widened in surprise, she was punched by Marina and blown away.
Her back slammed into a tree, and she fell straight to the ground.
"I got hold of a metal in the labyrinth that's incredibly hard, but damn heavy. I'm fond of these. They're durable and don't break. Still, as expected of a Kirin. It left a scratch."
It seemed Mei had left the first scratch on the gauntlets, which had no marks despite extensive use. Marina had repeatedly conquered the labyrinth and prepared her own equipment in the process.
She wasn't just an adventurer who only had strength in her arms.
Mei stood up, shook her head, and looked at Marina.
(The burns on her skin are already healed? And if I look closely, the clothes she's wearing under the coat have no holes.)
There was no way ordinary clothes could withstand Mei's purple lightning.
Mei revised her perception. Then, parting the blonde hair behind her ears, horns appeared and extended backward.
At the appearance of Mei's two golden horns, Marina looked excited.
"Good. Let's both bring out our trump cards. I can't wait to see how many more you're hiding!"
Saying so, Marina widened her stance and let out a growl as if enduring something. Mei heard a voice like a beast intimidating its foe.
Her muscles swelled, and on the visible parts—her arms—body hair grew, making her truly look like a beast.
A beastman. In a word, that was her appearance. To the now-hairy Marina, Mei spoke bluntly.
"You've become quite hairy, big sister."
"Grrrr... I'll... kill you..."
Hearing Mei's joke, she didn't seem to be taking it literally. She had practically sacrificed her cognitive abilities to go wild.
Marina sprinted across the ground. In an instant, Mei also released magic to enhance her body. When they locked hands in a contest of power, the petite Mei looked clearly disadvantaged. In fact, she was losing in power.
However.
"Your strength has certainly increased, but it's not good to let your cognitive abilities drop due to excitement. You were more of a threat a moment ago!"
Mei flinched Marina with a headbutt and then unleashed a kick to Marina's stomach. However, Marina didn't move, as if Mei had kicked a giant tree.
Her weight had increased more than before. The muscular strength that Mei thought had only swelled seemed to have increased in density as well.
Mei was astonished. Looking at Marina's state, she noticed the abnormality.
"Are you competing with me using only physical abilities? You're surprisingly phenomenal, big sister."
This was a world where people, to a greater or lesser extent, enhanced their bodies with magic. In such a world, being able to fight on equal terms with a Kirin, called a Divine Beast, using only physical strength was a threat.
Marina grabbed Mei's ankle and slammed Mei into the ground just like that. The place where Mei hit was gouged out, forming a crater.
Mei spat blood from her mouth—.
――At the base under attack, the Valkyries were being thrown into wagons.
Swords and spears were thrust into their bodies, and the adventurers laughed as they removed the equipment from the immobilized Valkyries and looked at the torsos that had fleshy parts.
"Hey, these are made quite exquisitely!"
"Couldn't we sell these to the folks with those kinds of hobbies?"
"Then don't get them dirty. If you're going to dirty them, buy them yourself."
The adventurers of the mercenary company, laughing boisterously, roughly threw another Valkyrie onto the wagon in pairs.
The mercenary captain looked at his prized sword, which had chipped when he fought the Valkyries.
"Tch, it chipped when I stabbed the fleshy part. Even though it cuts through bone easily. They're troublesome ones."
He kicked one of the lying Valkyries, and one that had been face down flipped onto its back. A spear was thrust into it, and a red liquid was flowing from there.
Since the limbs were made of metal, it seemed they had targeted the torso to take them down. They were wearing armor, but if there was a gap, it didn't matter to them.
As for the adventurer party, they were carefully removing the equipment from the recovered Valkyries and loading them into the wagons in separate piles.
The leader looked at the captain and his subordinates.
"Materials stripped away should be handled with care."
Then, the captain burst out laughing.
"Sorry about that! I'll have the logistics crew clean them up later. Well, since there are this many, it's fine to dirty one or two. But man, they're wearing some great equipment."
The Valkyries' bodies were one thing, but thinking about how much the equipment would sell for, the captain couldn't stop laughing.
He knew that Lariel and the others had spent huge sums of money to create them, and he knew there were merchants who wanted to buy them.
"We're making a killing this time. But they're quite cautious, aren't they?"
The base they attacked was small, and there were still bases further inside. The captain said they could just earn there.
"The places to earn are just dispersed... It seems that brat really was excellent when it came to war. He dispersed the forces and lost them."
However, the leader's reaction was slightly different.
"Indeed. However, the wear and tear on the equipment is severe. Some of our comrades have used up all their spares."
When the captain looked around, he saw a member of the company holding a Valkyrie's weapon and checking how it felt to use.
"I'll have weapons sent. If we send these back to the rear and have weapons brought here, it'll help us too. The problem is... I'm concerned about Marina. She'll be fine, right?"
He felt anxious since no report had come, but the resistance was weaker than expected. And because they had recovered the treasure trove of Valkyries, neither the captain nor the leader noticed.
That there was nothing other than the Valkyries that could be considered important to Lariel and the others.
The leader spoke.
"I'll send someone to confirm. If it looks bad, we'd better hurry."
The captain seemed to agree.
"Then I'll send my subordinate. You lot, stop playing around and let's go to the next hunting ground!"
The subordinates of the mercenary company and the adventurer party who had joined temporarily seemed to be in high spirits—.