Arc 7, Chapter 110 "Celebration"
TL's note: Thanks for being patient! I'm back, although - not in the best shape. This translation is pretty low-quality so I'm sure it's riddled with a bunch of contextual and grammatical errors. I highly recommend waiting for a translation from WCT for this chapter.
She bites the ground hard with his animal claws and sends his body flying forward as if she were pulling the earth out of the ground.
The friends of the warriors are struggling to control the battlefield by using their wits and wiles. Frederica Baumann runs through the battlefield to help them.
The beautiful golden-haired leopard passed through the wind and continued to serve as a messenger at the 'second' fastest speed among those running around this battlefield.
The fact that the rebels, who were, as we might say, a mere mob, were able to bring the situation to a stalemate against the Imperial regulars, who were overwhelmingly superior in quality, was largely due to the information picked up by Otto Suwen, Abel, who managed the information, and Frederica, who could quickly transmit the information.
Regardless of whether or not she was aware of her contribution, Frederica was kicking the dirt with important information at this time, and the impact of that information was extraordinarily large.
It is--,
"--There are signs of a change in the earth, my Lord and brother has informed me."
Breathing heavily, Frederica, who had been beastified, hurriedly reported that she had arrived at the main camp while pushing her body, which was growing tired, and that she was willing to expose her bare skin.
That's what Garfiel, who survived the fierce battle while running around the battlefield, told Frederica in a bloodthirsty tone, not proud of his war achievement.
Ragged and bloody, Garfiel survived Frederica's unimaginable death struggle. As a sister, her desire to commend her brother's struggle was postponed in the face of his desperate appeal.
Fortunately, Roswaal, who arrived with the flying dragon squad's reinforcements, is by Garfiel's side and will be able to assist him appropriately. Regardless of Garfiel's feelings about being made to do so by his love enemy.
"--. You're not being very specific. Any details?"
"I don't know, I just have a hunch with my brother's blessing. Just......"
"Just?"
"My brother's intuition is always right, good or bad."
Garfiel's intuition is as good as a beast's, even though he has never been in the wild. In everyday life, Garfiel's instincts do not work well, and he is often disfigured in front of Ram, but when it comes to fighting, his reliability is unparalleled.
That is why Frederica, too, rushed to the main camp without a care in the world.
"----"
Hearing Frederica's complaint, the beautiful Serena Dracroy - the High Countess of the empire who had come to their side with the flying dragon squadron's reinforcements - looked thoughtful.
She is a woman of character, and since she is an acquaintance of Roswaal's, she is probably a woman of character. However, this is also a point in common with Roswaal's acquaintances, but aside from her personality, there is no doubt that she is excellent in terms of her abilities.
This is evident in the fact that he is now deputy to the absent general in the main camp, where the movement of the rebels, now a large army, is regulated.
"Lady Frederica! It is a cloak!"
Frederica, who was looking at Serena's thoughtful profile, had a red cloak draped over her shoulders from behind. The cloak is only worn by "generals" of the Vollachia empire, but the person who put it on was not familiar with the meaning of such an ornament.
So glad for the genuine goodwill, Frederica smiled.
"Thank you, Mr. Schult. I apologize for the embarrassment."
"No, she didn't! Miss Frederica worked hard and ran around among many people! I think it's very admirable!"
Frederica pulled her cloak tighter around him and thanked him, but it was Schult, his small body filled with charm, who was hunched over in front of Frederica.
Schult's feelings of being left behind in the main camp and having no choice but to watch the war situation with a sense of dread must be even more painful than Frederica's, who is able to serve as a messenger.
Still, it is admirable that he is able to say a word of thanks to Frederica when she returns.
"Yeah, Uu wanted to join Mii and the others. I wish I could have been there with you."
Next to Schult, Utakata, whose black hair is dyed peach at the ends, crosses her arms and nods her head.
Flinching at her belligerent remark, "I-I don't know about that", Frederica turned her attention back to Serena.
Serena stroked the left side of her face, a large white sword wound there.
"The land of Vollachia is showing signs of change. It is the leadership of a fool to disregard the advice of the one whom Roswaal has so heavily relied upon."
"Then......"
"It was a bit of a karma, but it also fit with the words left behind by the man who disappeared with the "Stargazer". It was a very selfish thing to say, to entrust me with a great role that only I could fulfill. It was as if--"
"As if?"
He was arrogant as if he were the emperor. He was arrogant as if he were the emperor, and he was the one who had come to avenge it."
Serena, arms crossed, sighs with a complicated expression that can be neither angry nor dismayed.
She mentioned a man with a devil's mask - Abel. He was originally in charge of the overall command of the rebels, but he left the main camp and entrusted his role to Serena.
He has not been able to get any details from Serena about what kind of exchange took place at that time.
"What did Abel say to Serena before he left?"
"--. The end is near. However..."
There, Serena broke off her speech, and her slitted eyes were now filled with indignation. As it was, the "Scorching Lord", known for her caustic posture, indicated the battlefield with her shapely chin.
"The decision will be left undecided, with neither side leaning toward the emperor or the rebels."
"Is it......?"
Frederica is also puzzled as she understands the meaning of Serena's expression, that it's not even to be mentioned.
What kind of situation can be expected when a battle of this magnitude takes place and the outcome is left undecided? In the first place, it would be inappropriate to use words that could be taken to mean that all efforts will be in vain when addressing the person to whom one entrusts the command of the battlefield.
I must say that Abel, who left it unsaid, fatally does not understand the human heart.
Anyway--,
"Does settling mean the battle is over? If so, does that mean that Priscilla, Al, and Heinkel will return?"
"Mr. Schult......"
With melancholy in his curly eyes, Schult stands tall with his small body and looks out over the battlefield.
The boy's eyes turned to a corner of the battlefield that created a particularly harsh environment in the extreme conditions - the red sky and the white sky, two battlefields that even Frederica could not visit.
The mere approach gave the beast's instincts the certainty that its body would not be able to hold out.
"----"
For that reason, Frederica cannot casually utter words of comfort.
The things happening in that space were supposed to be phenomena beyond Frederica's imagination. When Frederica lowered the corners of her eyes, she felt ashamed to admit that she had not seen it.
"Shu, don't worry. Puu and Yo are both strong. They're as good as Mii and Ta."
"Miss Utakata......"
"Uu is also called '-chan'."
"Miss Utakata-chan......"
Utakata, her chest heaving, roughly strokes Schult's peach-colored, habitually hairy head with his hand.
It was a childish and baseless assertion, but it resonated with Schult because there was no hesitation. Frederica's lips were tearing at the sight of Schult shaking his head.
Then again, turning to Serena,
"What are you going to do about it, Master Serena? If you don't leave your brother's intuition behind, then you need to deal with what Master Abel has to say......"
"It's a lost cause. Of course, there is no time to be lost. --Look."
Serena, who again shuffled her chin, Frederica said, "What?" and her gaze is directed to the battlefield. In Frederica's green eyes, an anomaly on the battlefield is visible even from a distance - a rampaging giant human-shaped wall, one of the "Nine Divine Generals" turns his back and darts into the imperial city.
"Is that...... heading to the Crystal Palace?"
"More and more, I wonder if the man is right. --I don't know the truth of your brother's statement that Vollachia will be the enemy."
Serena frowned with a face that had an idea of the "Steel Man" Mogro Hagane's outburst.
And then--,
"Tell everyone. --As soon as there is anything unusual in the Crystal Palace, suspend the battle action. Prepare for this battle, for the blood that has been spilled, for the lives that have been spilled for nothing."
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--A high-pitched sound, the blue dragon sword and the axe, the barbarian sword, strike each other in mid-air, sparking off sparks.
Steel that is wielded mercilessly to take the life of an opponent.
He was becoming numb to it, but now that it was directed at him, the fear and realization that his life was being threatened once again surged up from within his bones and skin.
He had never considered himself mentally fragile. Rather, he had always thought that, compared to other children of his age, he is blessed with boldness, combined with the experience of the ordeals under which he had dived.
However, the foundation of such trust in oneself is likely to be shaken if one's skin tingles from being roasted by the blasts and one feels breathless, as if one's lungs have shrunk under the strain.
And the most important reason why he thinks that--,
"--"
Even in the midst of battle, a glowering gaze is directed toward them.
The man's gaze, as if he had not forgotten about them and was holding a blade against them, was the biggest factor that increased Petra's suffocation.
An imperial soldier with a bandana wrapped around his head, wielding an axe.
This person, whose name is unknown, is the true identity of the difficult enemy that is currently tormenting Petra and her friends.
If you are alive, you are always next to death.
In any situation, a situation can change drastically right after a blink of an eye. The man in front of her seemed to be an example of this unreasonableness, and Petra bit her teeth hard.
Kneeling on the ground, she supports Otto, who is breathing heavily. Otto's fatigue is heavy from the impact of the magic stone used for the emergency evacuation, the majority of which he has taken on.
That is why Petra could never be weak on the battlefield, where both the strong and the weak put their lives on the line.
"Hyah! Al-chin!"
Oh, hey, Miss Medium-chan."
That high voice, disproportionate to the blood-scented battlefield, is linked with a distracted voice, and sword fights are exchanged with the pitch-black murderous intent.
Al works in tandem with Medium, who uses his small body to the fullest, and crosses paths with the imperial soldiers. Their combat power was not enough to overwhelm the enemy, and a fierce grinding battle ensued.
Sorry to Al, but when he showed up with reinforcements, Petra thought he was a disappointment.
"If that was Mr. Garf or Emily......"
Simply, they would have been not only a reliable ally, but also a competent opponent.
Al's ability to do otherwise is not very high in Petra's view. Even better than noncombatants like Petra and Otto, he felt weaker than anyone in Shudrak.
However, in the sense that their strength is not that outstanding, the same is true of the opposing imperial soldiers.
Surely those imperial soldiers were no weaker than Emilia, Garfiel, and those imperial "Nine Divine Generals" or whatever they were. Still, Petra was afraid of him.
You don't need a lot of magic to get rid of bugs on flowers. A pinch of the finger or a little water is all it takes. This attitude of the imperial soldier was evident in his attitude.
Petra and her colleagues on this battlefield are a little more than a few hard-working little insects--.
"--That's nasty, dude."
Suddenly, a man's voice slips into Petra's cowering ears.
For a moment, his shoulders jumped, but it was not Petra and the others who called out to him, but the two who were engaged in a sword fight with him, and that was Al.
"Dah! Ngah! Yah!"
The man swung the axe in his hand and aimed at Al's thick neck. But when it was caught by his one-armed blue dragon sword, he turned himself and struck two or three heavy blows.
Al manages to parry the barrage of blows with an unusually dangerous hand.
Petra was not at all at ease and could not help but let out a little scream.
"Somehow, I'd like to cover for Mr. Al......"
The same anxiety seemed to be in Otto's mind, and there was more than exhaustion and frustration in his voice.
There was a sense of urgency in Al's battle that came with a bang, and although he is lucky to be holding his own now, there were five attacks that could have killed him if he had made a wrong move.
It seems to Petra a bad bet for a minute to see if she can count the sixth time.
"It's still a pain in the ass."
However, it seems that the opinions of the imperial soldiers are slightly different from those of Petra and her colleagues.
The man, who continued to shrug off the attack, even though it was dangerous, took a large step backward, whereupon he raised his axe-less hand and waved it lightly in the direction of Al and Medium.
Immediately after, a fireball was born in the air, and it ran furiously toward them, burning the sky.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!"
"Kyaaaah!"
A spirit that is being obeyed in a way that is not straight forward, although I don't understand the logic.
Al and Medium held their heads and ran for cover as the fireball it unleashed approached them. The fireball missed them and spread to the surrounding trees and grass on the ground, causing the flames to swell.
"This is bad......"
You can see why Otto would mutter that.
If you look, the flames brought by the fireball did not burn Al and the others, but instead burned the surrounding area, surrounding Petra and the others who were facing the imperial soldiers and trying to block their escape route.
The melting and burning flames formed a circle, in which they were trapped.
Even if they missed, it was probably the aim of the imperial soldiers to block the escape route in this way, but the other party tilted his head, leaving Petra and the others to gnash their teeth at the situation.
"I don't like it."
The quiet, almost out-of-place comment prompted Al to say, "Huh?"
He held a blue dragon sword in his hand, indicating his burning surroundings.
"What are you saying after all this? Take care of the resources, take care of the resources. How hard do plants have to work to get oxygen...... so that humans can take deep breaths like this?"
"I could have killed you six times so far, but I haven't been able to kill you once. Even when I threw you into a place where you couldn't dodge. It's disgusting."
"What do they say about me? Today is a bad day."
Al's response is met with a frown and the man's disbelief.
The Imperial soldiers seem quite puzzled, not knowing the bottom of Al's ability. Frankly, it is very disgusting to agree with that person, but Petra has the same doubts about Al.
Al is dying, and yet he does not die.
He is responding to the attacks of the imperial soldiers, but with his precarious movements, he manages to avoid fatal wounds. --He is surely avoiding only fatal wounds.
But it's not like he's hiding his ability, it's very tinny.
So the imperial soldiers also cannot get a decision to cut their losses.
"If you're like me, you don't have any preparation, you're just going through the motions. In that sense, your bro back there is probably more my kind of guy."
"......Is that me? If so, I object on my honor."
"Yes! Your character is different! You are more boisterous and nasty."
"I guess it stings me, too, instead of being on my side."
Otto, unexpectedly pulled into the topic, chuckles bitterly.
Petra felt a little frustrated by Otto's attitude, but that soon disappeared.
"----"
Otto glanced at her and winked at Petra. Petra thought about it, sensing something other than bitterness in his expression, something he was planning to do.
Without uttering a word, he said that he had a thought that he wanted Petra to guess.
"I spent too long."
Immediately after Petra guessed this, an Imperial soldier with a cold voice snapped his fingers.
Immediately afterward, a fireball, smaller than the previous one, was born, and it scattered in all directions at a blinding speed, igniting not Petra and her friends but the trees and ground around them.
The expansion of the fire formation to surround it, and the flames and black smoke that accompany it--,
'Ah-cha-cha-cha! It's burning, burning!"
"Easy, girl! Come here before your braids burn!"
Surrounded by flames, Medium jumps with her long braids. She straddles the line of flames and jumps in beside Al, who looks back at her with tears in his eyes.
He gripped his barbarian sword back tightly and tried to glare at the person who had done this to him--,
"Huh?!"
"Seriously......"
Medium's surprise is combined with Al's sigh.
The cause of their reaction, the disappearance of the imperial soldiers who created the spectacle of flames.
"----"
The figure of the Imperial soldier vanished in the flames and black smoke. Did he flee to hide from the flames, or was he waiting for them to slowly burn to death?
"Tch......"
"There's no one here at all! We have to get out of here before we burn up too!""
His helmet-covered vision swept around as Al searched for the figure of the man who had disappeared in the flames. Meanwhile, he holds his own blue dragon sword against his own neck, his eyes fixed on the imperial soldier in a strange stance.
Medium also looks around a bit beside him, but she is impatient with enemies she can't find, and pleads with them to avoid the intensifying fire.
Indeed, it is natural to think that the priority here should be to get away from the danger zone, that it would be a mistake to lose the escape route by fixating on the whereabouts of the man.
However--,
"----"
Otto's hand was placed on Petra's hand, which was supporting her body, and Otto put a slight amount of pressure on it. Petra takes the tension in his grip as a silent instruction.
Petra strongly agrees with this caution, saying that they must not let our guard down.
On top of that, Petra put her other hand on top of the hand that was overlapping Otto's--,
"--Thank you, Petra-chan."
Just after uttering these words of gratitude, Otto twisted in place and fell to the ground on his back. --A moment later, an axe cleaved through the side of his head just in time.
"----"
The killing intent of the imperial soldiers approaching through the smoke from the fire formation laid down struck out.
The man, who has been emptied out of the moment of certainty, looks lightly at this fact. But, as if quickly regaining his composure, the man tries to pull back the axe he swung--,
"Jiwald!"
"Guh"
Petra held up five fingers, and the weakly powered Jiwald emitted from all of her fingers radiated across the face of the imperial soldier, and one of the five shots burned the opponent's right eye.
It was Petra's attack, sacrificing power for surface control. It successfully achieved its goal, and the man who was roasted in the eyeballs cries out in agony and bends over.
Then, a spinning figure leapt from the air.
"Go on!"
It's Al, hunched over the flames, and Medium, who leapt on his back to step up to the plateau.
Medium, spinning vertically, flashed a barbarian sword held rigidly in both hands, and it struck the Imperial soldier, who had lost his posture, without mercy.
"Uryaah!"
A hard sound echoed, and a red of a different coloration mingled with it in the burning flames.
The sound that echoed was not the sound of a skull cracking under a barbarian sword. Petra raised her hand and saw. Petra saw the man voluntarily go to meet the swinging sword with his forehead.
That hard sound was probably from the foreheadplate he had planted under his bandana. That's how he got hit by Medium. Of course, it was not unscathed.
Bumping, he swung his axe with his hand on his forehead, awkwardly dodging the follow-up blow and dropping, dropping, dropping--,
"Shit......"
A bandana stained with blood fell from the man's head. The man's broken forehead was bleeding unstoppably, even though he was holding the bandana by his forehead pad.
The man's eyes glared at Otto and Petra as he bled profusely.
The look in his eyes asks why his surprise attack was detected--,
"--I won't tell you. I am not your parent or brother."
"You're lying on the ground," Otto said, as if still proud of his victory.
In response, the imperial soldier clicks his tongue. He clicks his tongue, wipes the blood from his forehead with his palm, and said,
"Ah! Wait! It's not fair to run away!"
There, he became enraged and chose not to do anything reckless like jumping on him.
With his right eye closed, blocked by heat and blood, the imperial soldier disappears behind the flames. Petra is alerted to another surprise attack by her opponent, who is once again out of sight.
"He wouldn't come...... he didn't seem desperate enough to keep fighting at a disadvantage."
"Ugh~, I'm not convinced. It's as if we were the only ones who were desperate."
I understand how you feel, young lady. But it was the other side that ran away without a word. We won, we won. --We wooooon!!"
"WE WON-!!"
Al and Medium raise a victory cry as they head in the direction of the disappearing imperial soldiers.
In fact, they don't know if that would be harassing those Imperial soldiers, but it made Petra's heart a little lighter with the two of them.
Anyway--,
"How'd you read his move at the end? It was a gamble, wasn't it?"
"I don't take credit for that, it was Petra's help."
With the help of Al, who sheathed his blue dragon sword, the triggered Otto shows Petra. However, Petra also cannot take credit for everything.
"I was the target in the first place, so I knew the last move would be aimed at me. It was the sound of footsteps that gave me the timing and direction of the move."
"Footsteps?"
"You've heard the children under the earth on Otto's 'channel'......, right?"
You have answered my question.
Petra clasps her hands together in front of her chest at Otto's affirmation that her prediction was right on the money.
Originally, Otto used his "Divine Protection of Soul Language" to seize control of information on the entire battlefield, which is why he was targeted by the enemy. Although it is not known how, those imperial soldiers appeared to have lost Otto's blessing, which allowed them to hear the voices of animals and insects and grasp the whole picture.
To capture such an opponent, the same method as before was not enough.
"So, the kids under the dirt...... were the ones Otto said were useless because they didn't have eyes and couldn't see what was going on out there."
"Maybe I would have chosen my words a little better! ......Anyway, I listened to the sounds of animals and insects in the ground and used footsteps to figure out where they were. It was a bit haphazard, but Petra-chan helped me to pick up the voices with her yang magic."
"Otto, it's because you signaled me with an evil look."
When his hand was held tightly, Otto asked Petra to cover him with yang magic.
With his help, Otto was able to guess his opponent's position from the sound of his footsteps, avoiding the final ambush and, conversely, inflicting a painful blow on his opponent, forcing him to retreat.
"--. To tell you the truth, I would have liked to have made him incapable of combat."
"I agree. He wasn't strong, he was just good at killing. More than that......"
"Hot, hot, hot! We've got to get out of here or we'll get steamed up!"
Retreating from a dangerous enemy does not break out of a situation where the surrounding area is on fire.
Hearing Medium's complaint, Al said, "Yes", lending Otto his shoulder. Petra, together with Medium, leads them in search of a place where the effects of the flames are less severe.
And so, the group tries to leave before they are engulfed in flames--,
"Let's get out of here as soon as possible. We now have a reason to return to the main camp."
"......That's not exactly a preamble to bragging about the saga of escaping from a dangerous opponent."
"Yes, it's bad news. The clock is ticking. ......I was trying to listen for footsteps earlier, and this is just a side note."
A disgusting preamble that is uttered at the point where one difficulty has passed.
Chased by the heat of the flames, Petra turned her attention to the statement that she still couldn't miss, and a reluctant-looking Otto was behind her - or rather, looking out over the entire battlefield,
"I think the whole battlefield is about to become dangerous from a different angle, like dragons and burning skies. And it's right in front of us."
Coincidentally, at the same time that his brother had detected it with the "Divine Protection of Soul Language", Otto Suwen had obtained the same information with the "Divine Protection of Soul Language" and uttered it.
△▼△▼△▼△
"--I hear that a 'Great Calamity' is approaching that will endanger the Vollachia Empire. As a general of this empire! As a 'General' who has survived the shame of his life! At all costs! I cannot die without being of service to His Excellency the Emperor!"
He was told old by a large man chained to an underground wall - a man who identified himself as Goz Ralfon - and Rem understood that problems other than civil war were shaking the imperial capital.
Goz, who had been given only one meal every two days and was quite weak, was surprisingly revitalized and regained his vitality with Rem's comforting healing magic.
He thought perhaps a large part of that effect was due to his own assumptions.
"Girl, your treatment has saved my life! I would have invited you to my home and introduced you to my wife and children as my benefactor, but I must go to His Excellency now! I will repay you for this!!"
"Uh, yes."
"If possible, leave here and join the regulars! If it's Number One General Mogro Hagane or Number Two General Kafma Irulux, I won't make it worse! Any other general will be avoided! I can't talk to you!"
With a loud and boisterous voice, Goz, his chains removed, leaped out of the basement at a tremendous speed, and, after blackmailing the soldiers guarding the mansion, ordered them to make their way to the Crystal Palace, which was visible from a distance.
In response, the attitude of the guards was split in two.
Apparently, there was a division among the soldiers in the compound between those who knew about Goz and those who did not. Those who were kept in the dark were not amused, and those who were disclosed the information were that much more trusted by Berstetz.
Therefore--,
"I see. You stand before me."
Goz, without a cloak, his upper body bare of muscular armor, looks at the guards who have drawn their weapons and blocked his way.
Goz is unarmed and has been in captivity for more than a day or two. He was far from being in perfect condition. But it was not against such odds that the guards took a stand.
"I will do so. As I am loyal to the Emperor, you are loyal to the Prime Minister. I will see to it that you are honored!!"
The overwhelming demonic energy emanating from him was unclouded as he looked at the soldiers opposing him.
Then there is the one-sidedness of the bare-knuckle Goz fight.
A huge fist bone is swung, and several guards are blown away by a single shot.
The slight advantage in numbers was not even a margin of error. It was a moment of overwhelming control.
"Abel told me your name as one of the 'Nine Divine Generals'......"
In fact, the only two real "Nine Divine Generals" Rem has seen are Arakiya and Madelyn in the castle city of Guaral.
Compared to both of them, Goz's presence is second to none.
He may be at a disadvantage now, though, because of the weapons and equipment and then the wear and tear.
"Well fought! That is why you are the Sword-Wolf of the Empire!"
In the middle of the battered soldiers, Goz thrusts his arms up in the air and speaks his praise in a heated manner.
As I recall, I had heard that he had sacrificed himself to help Abel, the real emperor, escape, but he was in such good spirits that I thought it was a lie that he was exhausted from being tied up.
It is unclear why he was tethered to the basement of the mansion.
"Once again, Prime Minister Berstetz Fondalfon! You will not get away with this! And neither will you, General Chisha! Uohhhhh--!!"
Before he could discuss these details, Goz had dashed out of the main gate of Berstetz's mansion with the guards who agreed with him.
Overwhelmed by the grandeur of the "Lion Knight", Rem could do nothing but watch her back.
But--,
"I have no business in that castle."
In an unexpected turn of events, the soldiers in the mansion were gone, and there were no more obstacles to prevent Rem.
Rem checked to see if the soldiers struck down by Goz were alive or dead, gave minimal treatment to the seriously wounded, and moved around the house, using one of her long swords as a walking stick, to a room that she had passed many times.
And then--,
"Miss Katya, it's me, Rem. Please come out."
"......I definitely don't want to get out of here. W-what was that loud voice just now?"
"I understand how you feel. But that loud voice has already left. I think we should talk about what we are going to do about it too."
"What we are going to do about it......"
A voice through the door, in front of Katya's room, who never showed up, prompts Rem to make her decision.
At present, the urgency to leave the mansion in a hurry has diminished because Goz's bravery, for better or worse, has wiped out the mansion's soldiers.
However--,
"The 'Great Calamity'......"
That's why Goz was in such a hurry to get to the emperor, who he said was in the Crystal Palace.
Precisely, the main reason why Goz went to the Crystal Palace would be to confront the imposter who is deceiving the emperor. Nevertheless, it is true that the purpose is to stop that unidentifiable calamity.
In any case, Goz's advice was not a good one to stay here.
Then--,
"--Well, I have no reason to leave, because I-I'm a hostage."
"There are no more soldiers to hold on to. There is no longer any reason to take hostages."
"S-still......"
"--. I understand. At least open the door. If I could see your safe face."
Katya was perplexed, but remained unyielding in her insistence, and Rem folded.
After a few moments of silence at this last request of Rem, the wheels of the wheelchair are heard moving and the door is unlocked. And so, as the door to the room is opened.
"Excuse me. Let's go."
"Huh?! Hey, you son of a?!"
"I'm sorry. I lied when I said I just wanted to see you safe."
After getting into the room, Rem found Katya by the door, and quickly walked behind her and pushed her wheelchair out of the room.
A panicked Katya tries to resist, but she is powerless to stop the wheel and is unable to resist Rem's forceful power, and is pushed out of the way.
"Wait! I'm here with someone who has to wait......"
"I'm very aware of that. But it is dangerous to wait here. Even if we wait for your fiancé, let's at least go somewhere safe."
"Safe? There is no safer place in the capital than here--"
There is no way, Katya was probably going to say.
But Katya, who was in the middle of her speech, was in the middle of twisting her head left and right to glare at Rem behind her, when suddenly her eyes opened and she stared at the sky.
Katya's reaction caused Rem to look up as well, and a large shadow loomed over their heads as they walked down the hallway of the mansion.
--The enormous, human-shaped wall straddles the mansion and is a step toward the back of the Imperial City.
"----"
The impact is greater than the rampage of Goz or any of the attacks of the rebels trying to invade the imperial capital, or the giant foot that passes close at hand, stomping and running through the city.
Feeling the wheels of her wheelchair lift off the ground, Rem and Katya looked at each other in horror.
"I-I'm sure we're not talking about safety here......"
QYes, let's hurry."
As she said, she thought the current giant step was one of the exceptions in this whole fiasco, but it would be silly to go out of my way to say that and cause Katya's displeasure.
Katya, who was obediently obeying, pushed her wheelchair, and Rem followed her.
"Your companion is on bed rest, isn't he? What are you going to do?"
"I really shouldn't move too much. But I can't put it that way......"
Katya responds to Katya's words, and Rem arrives at the desired room with her.
Among them is Flop O'Connell, who was brought to the mansion with Rem and is still under house arrest for treatment of his serious injuries.
As he answered to Katya, he would like to be laid to rest if possible, but--,
"Mr. Flop, it's me. May I interrupt?"
"Mm, my lady! I'll open it now."
A knock on the door was immediately answered, followed immediately by the door opening. Rem and Katya rolled their eyes at the response, which could only be that they were right next to the door, and it was no surprise that Flop, who was apparently lurking by the door, was clutching a hand mirror in his hand.
"Um, Mr. Flop, what's with the mirror?"
"I was actually thinking of it as a weapon. You heard a very loud voice earlier, didn't you? The city is getting noisy, and I thought someone hostile might come barging in."
Flop answers while twirling a hand mirror. In case you were wondering, since Rem and the others were nominally prisoners of war or hostages, there were no tools in their respective rooms that could be used as weapons.
However, a mirror as a countermeasure is not a good idea.
"......You mean you can fight with that mirror?"
'Hate to say it, but that's about all I had in the room. But I've never fought with a mirror before, so maybe I have a talent for sleeping! What does your wife think?"
"I agree. I want to stop wasting time and talk about what we need to talk about."
Flop responds to Katya's eyes in his usual tone. She's honestly relieved that he is who he is, but on the other hand, she'd like to leave it at that for once in a dire situation.
Anyway--,
"She is Miss Katya. She's someone I met at the mansion."
"I'm Flop O'Connell. Your lady told me about you. You're a friend of hers."
"......I-I don't remember being friends with this, girl, but..."
"If so, then you better plan on it. Making good friends is a clue to a good life. Even if you don't, there's nothing wrong with having a lot of friends."
"I'm, probably, not very good at making......"
As Rem had predicted, Flop has a personality that Katya does not like. Nevertheless, since Flop's side of the business is of a nature that does not mind being told frankly by Katya, the best situation is if Katya can just look bitter.
"Mr. Flop, the situation in the Imperial City right now......"
"I know roughly what you mean. Madelyn came to greet me before I left for the battle."
"......Madelyn says hello, is that right?"
From an unexpected connection, she knew that Madelyn went to Flop's, but she never expected that they would be friends, even coming to greet each other before going into battle.
However, if one of the "Nine Divine Generals" had spoken to him directly, it is even possible that Flop would know more about the situation outside than Rem.
"Then we'll talk quickly. The guards of the compound are already gone, so you are free to stay or get out, but...... I say we should leave the compound."
"I wonder if that had anything to do with the loud voices and the tremendous earth tremors we heard earlier?"
"Yes. But that's not all. Something worse could happen."
"S-so it's worse than that?! Y-you've got to be kidding me......."
Rem's concern to answer Flop, and Katya's face pales and shudders when she hears it.
All this is not to scare Katya into doing what he says, but to talk about a real, though unconfirmed, possibility of danger. On the other hand, however, it is not more than a "something might happen" story, so it does not amount to a confirmation to move.
"Still, you think your lady should leave."
"--Yes."
Asked this by Flop, Rem nodded without hesitation.
Although under house arrest, life in the mansion was not so inconvenient. Although they were forbidden to go out, they were relatively allowed to come and go between each other's rooms, and they were entrusted with treating Flop's injuries. She was able to meet Katya, and there was no room for great anger or hatred toward the supposed enemy, the Berstetz.
As for the reason for Berstetz's rebellion, there is a suspicion in Rem's mind that it is Abel=Vincent who is to blame, even more so.
Nevertheless, without those circumstances, Rem's feelings are probably the most decisive reason for wanting to leave the mansion.
If she continues to be a prisoner, she will unsettle many people who have been good to Rem.
Such is the reason why they should get out of such an unjust and dishonest situation as soon as possible.
"Alright, I understand. I have no objection. Let's go with your lady and Miss Katya."
"Are you sure?"
"Even if you stay, there's nothing you can do except stay in bed. I'm still a peddler, so I have to be somewhat physically active or I get anxious."
Flop makes a clenched fist as he laughs like that, perhaps to keep Rem on her toes. Then he interrupts with the word, "And,"
"I've been entrusted with the task of delivering a message. If I accidentally fall asleep here and miss the opportunity to tell them, I can't face the world or my sister."
"A message...... from whom?"
"He was a renegade, a sword-wolf of the empire who had taken a huge gamble in my opinion."
Rem sniffs at Flop, who winks at him with one eye closed and replies, "I'm sorry."
Apparently, this is not a partner that Rem has in mind, but it is nice to know that Flop is coming with them.
"As you can imagine, it's no mean feat to carry Miss Katya to Mr. Flop while forcing her to push her wheelchair......"
"You ask me what I'm going to do, but you have no intention of making me do it!"
"If you guys aren't in danger, I'd be happy to leave you alone......"
If it is not safe to take them out by force, they have no choice but to take them out by force. As expected, Rem does not want to save them to the extent that they are beyond her power, but if she can reach them, she has no choice.
She does so even if it twists the other person's feelings. --Knowing that it doesn't look good on the outside.
"----"
For a moment, Rem felt like it was doing the same thing as the hand extended toward her, and she squirmed with mixed emotions.
She quickly shakes off the sensation and nods to Katya and Flop, and says, "Well,"
"Be careful when you leave the house. Be cautious when you encounter someone. You may not even know the person who is riding into the Imperial City."
"Don't be afraid. ......And you're injured, right? Can you go?"
"Haha, thanks for your concern. Fortunately, your lady has been very dedicated to the healing magic. The gouged flesh is filling in and I think the blood is coming back. As for the physical part, well, that's the thing, so I hope you'll give me a shout when you're ready to run."
"I will take that into consideration. I don't have perfect legs, and Katya is in a wheelchair."
Once again, she realizes that each of the three assembled faces is physically insecure. Still, none of them can afford to be absent, so it is imperative that we join forces.
And so, with such enthusiasm,
"Sometimes, ma'am, what about the rest of us who are being held captive?"
".......I forgot."
Flop points out the stakes, and Rem puts her hand to her forehead.
The mansion has a separate building, and in that building there are prisoners of war other than Rem and the others - several of them claiming to be the "Black-Haired Prince", the illegitimate son of the Emperor of Vollachia, whatever that means.
Most of the beings were apparently used to create a cause to rebel against the emperor, but it seems that Berstetz, who had rebelled over the issue of the emperor's heir, was no stranger to this, and prisoners of these beings were taken to see if they were real or not, whenever possible.
"Frankly, they are neither our enemies nor our allies, so we prefer to ignore them."
Currently, aside from Katya, the position of Rem and Flop is very complicated and difficult.
Although he had no strong cause or claim, he had joined the rebel group represented by Abel in a no-holds-barred manner. However, he was separated from that group and was not acquainted with the group of captive princes.
They don't know if they are right or wrong, and their attitude toward the Rem and the others is unknown.
"----"
So the real intention is what she said just before is what it is.
However, it is emotionally painful for Rem and her friends to leave the mansion to escape the "Great Calamity" that is looming, and to leave them in a locked away place.
Even if it is difficult to pick up all the pieces, they want to reduce human deaths as much as possible.
That is why the guards who were beaten up by Goz were given the bare minimum of treatment.
"......Why don't we just find the key and hook it up where we can get it ourselves?"
"Oh......"
"I-I don't know, but. I don't know, but if you think it might be dangerous, I don't want to get involved. But I don't want to be bothered with it! That's crazy!!"
"No, no, it's not crazy. Yes, it is."
Katya, seeing Rem's distress, offered a compromise.
Rem, who had only one of two options in her mind: to help or not to help, felt saved by Katya's words.
She's right, just find the key to the remote and make sure their captors have a little trouble getting to it. That should keep them safe and their peace of mind.
"Looks like it's all coming together."
Flop nodded in satisfaction at the settlement of Rem and Katya's story.
Meanwhile, braiding a piece of his own long blond hair, he gently puts his hand on the door. Then, as he pushed it open.
"Well, let's wait a bit...... to find out where the key is to the remote."
Flop, who was about to advance to the other side of the door, shut the door as he retracted his earlier words. Rem and Katya roll their eyes at this sudden action.
However, Flop indicated with a finger to his own mouth, "Be quiet," and opened the closed door slightly to look out. From Flop's side, Rem also peeked outside.
"--ah"
"W-wait, what? I don't have a good feeling about that reaction at all......"
Rem choked up when she found the reason why Flop closed the door, outside the door, and Katya, frightened by the presence, shook her voice.
But she was not able to prepare the words to release Katya's anxiety at once.
Because for both Rem and Flop, it was a sight beyond the realm of the imagination.
In the courtyard of Berstetz's mansion, a figure stands there, different from the soldiers.
It is--,
"......What's up with these people looking so pale? Do they not get enough sleep?"
And the sight of the shadows, clad in an air of bleakness, was so bizarre that Flop's redundancy sounded dry.
A group of people with lifeless complexions and visible cracks in their skin, all of which were immediately recognizable, were taking over the residence of the Imperial Prime Minister.
△▼△▼△▼△
"......At a glance, they were all dressed as Imperial soldiers, weren't they?"
Flop muttered among the breathless Rem and Katya as he closed the door without making a sound.
To be honest, the strangeness of the scene he saw was too strong for Rem, who did not have the time to pay attention to that many details, to irresponsibly affirm Flop's statement.
It's just--,
"Y-you said creeps are entering the compound...... doesn't that mean someone from the rebel army is trying to kill the Prime Minister?"
"It was a different vibe from that kind of inability to talk. It wasn't like they were mad or overexcited or anything like that......"
"It's like a different creature in human form. I also felt that it was difficult to tell if I could understand. My wounds ache with a bad feeling."
Rem agrees with Flop's opinion without denial.
Unlike the two who checked outside, Katya has not seen the person in question, but they can assure her that she would be distraught if she looked outside.
Having seen someone with whom he felt a different sense of reason, Rem suddenly thought.
"No way, is that the 'Great Calamity'......?"
The "Great Calamity," of which they have only heard words from Goz and can only imagine that it is bad anyway, but when they hear that it is imminent and see the outside presence, there does not seem to be a connection between them.
Besides, this would be Rem's intuition as one who can use healing magic.
"I didn't feel alive. It was as if......"
"Y-you won't tell me you're a dead man, will you? Oh no, that's ridiculous and hollow......"
"It might be hasty to laugh it off. Outside they were dressed as imperial soldiers, but come to think of it, their armor might have been tattered, as well as their faces and necks. Perhaps they could still have the scars from before they were born...... I wonder?"
"You wonder, I don't know!"
Katya is upset by Flop's true-to-life expression, her eyes black and white.
However, the fact that she strongly denies it is a sign that she senses something unusual is going on with Rem and Flop.
Worse still--,
"--Gyah"
"Guh"
"--ah"
The small cries of pain heard one after another were the cries of the guards who had been knocked down by Goz, who was lying outside, and who Rem had only patched up.
They did not see it clearly with their own eyes.
"......Apparently, it's hard to talk and understand each other."
Flop's words, with a severe tightening of his cheeks, told the story of the end of the soldiers who could not be overturned.
That mysterious force with the pale face tore into the fallen soldiers. Without any room for negotiation. --It is hard to imagine that Rem and the others would be an exception to this rule.
"I'm......"
Would it have been a different story if the soldiers had at least been put in a room somewhere?
If they had been moved to a safe area as they fell defenseless, they could have avoided a one-sided death. Then the responsibility for their deaths would lie with Rem, who did not do everything in his power to help them.
"--, that's not what I'm thinking about!"
"M-Miss Katya......"
"If you dip now, it won't just kill all three of us. No, I don't want to, I, I don't want to......!"
Katya's hands clasped Rem's face as she almost turned over in frustration, forcing her to look up. The teary-eyed Katya bit down accusingly, trying to eat away at Rem's weakness.
The vigor and straightforwardness of Katya's words took Rem's breath away.
Then she nodded quietly.
"Mr. Flop, the situation has changed. We have no choice but to open a breakaway here."
"Yes, you're right, ma'am. I was thinking the same thing. I don't know if I can get along with the crown prince and the others who were caught away from us, but there's also the idea that the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"Yes. If we had a common enemy, we could possibly go hand in hand."
Flop is quick to agree with the announcement of the change of policy. With Rem and Flop's agreement, Katya also shakes her head in agreement,
"Once I've decided to do that, I'll do it quickly and quickly! You're going to have to break the lock on the apartment. Y-you can do it, can't you?"
"......I just found a sword I picked up instead of a cane, so I can use that."
The sword would be broken, but they could at least break the lock on the door in exchange.
It is no longer possible to walk around the mansion looking for the key.
"We need to get there before their attention turns away, but the problem is......"
"Miss Katya's wheelchair......"
Staring eyes are drawn to the wheelchair.
The wheelchair, a gift from his fiancée, is a very well-made, high-end one, but even so, it does not hide the sound of the wheels turning and the various parts of the wheelchair in operation.
It is also unsuitable for situations where you have to move to avoid detection.
"I-I'm......"
Hit with the same challenge, Katya's gaze swims sloppily to the left and right, up and down.
However, as long as she is crippled, Katya and her wheelchair are inseparable. She herself is aware of this, and after some time of struggling with it, Katya said.
"Put it down and go open the door. I-I'll wait for you alone......"
"Alone...... but that's just..."
"Lock the door! If you stay in your room without saying a word, they won't know. If they're dead people, it's safer to stay hidden and not do anything stupid. I'm not asking you to do anything dangerous."
The fact that she is speaking so quickly in an upturned voice is evidence that she is in such a hectic state of mind.
However, it was painfully obvious to both Rem and Flop that Katya was speaking from what little courage she had.
And that feeling, that trust, should not be disregarded.
"Mr. Flop, please let Miss Katya......"
"No, you must take Miss Katya's spirit into consideration, ma'am. We have a better chance of winning if it takes two of us, you and I. Worst case scenario, one of us could take the bait."
"----"
It really is the worst case scenario, but if you turn away from what you don't want to think about, you will be helplessly devastated by the worst when you actually find yourself in that situation.
So, while considering the possibility of being struck by the worst of it, Rem nodded.
"We will definitely return with an open doorway."
"A-And do it well. You have to go back, too. Absolutely!"
"--Yes."
Holding Katya's hand, Rem exchanges firm promises.
He carried the worry of the clumsy Katya on his back and kept the weight of it in his heart to remember. As it was, Rem nodded to Flop and walked out of the room.
"----"
They exit into the corridor, gasping for breath and ducking for cover, and try to make their way to the back of the mansion, where they can explore their surroundings - the creepy "enemy".
The scent of blood wafting in the wind along the way belongs to the soldiers who have been killed. More than a dozen enemies who have done so are walking around the mansion with dangerous gait.
"......You look like you're looking for something."
"A living person, perhaps."
"No, it was more like a stopgap measure to get rid of the security people. There are not enough people to go around, and it seems to me that they have a more obvious goal."
On their way, keeping low, Rem and Flop exchanged opinions on their opponents' behavior.
Hearing Flop's sharp insights made Rem cringe because she felt like he was missing the point all the time.
"I don't know about this one either, because it's just what I thought."
And so it was frustrating to let Flop mend things.
At the very least, he would like to contribute to freeing those trapped in the separation and make up for it.
"--That's not good."
Fortunately, the sensory functions of the strange-looking "enemy" did not seem to differ much from those of humans, and it did not supplement them with mysterious performance that even Rem and the others did not understand.
Thanks to this, they managed to get to the remote area without being seen by the other party. But then a problem arose.
"As I expected, you didn't overlook it entirely."
Rem nodded silently at Flop's words, who saw the same thing.
Around the detached area, hiding behind a building and watching the situation, three of the "enemies" in question can be seen. It is unnatural for them not to stop by such a conspicuous building since they are looking for something.
The problem is that if the 'crown prince' and his men are kept in the building, even in a sitting room, the 'enemy' will unilaterally lash them as soon as they break through the door.
There is no time to spare. If they do not act immediately, their lives will be taken.
"Ma'am, I'll distract him. Can the three of you do it while I'm distracted?"
"----"
"I don't mind if the roles are reversed, but I think your lady is more likely than my hemming and hawing. I need you to decide now."
A forceful but necessary declaration of decision.
In response, Rem closed her eyes for a second, then quickly opened them.
And then--,
"Let's do it. I'll go around back. Mr. Flop, just for a moment."
"Oh, I'm in charge. I'm not proud of it, but I'm good at being a decoy."
Nodding at the reliable answer, Rem and Flop split up.
The three "enemies" who are planning to break through the large door are separated on both sides.
"----"
Squeezing, Rem checks the feel of the steel sword she brought to break the lock.
She has no experience wielding a sword, nor is she aware that she is good at hurting anyone. If she had to say so, she would say that breaking Subaru's finger was Rem's experience in engagement, but it is far from a basis for confidence.
But it is not a matter of confidence. It has to be done.
It is a critical moment.
"Hey there, fellows, how are you doing? I'm a peddler with nothing to sell. I'm just trying to sell you guys some face!"
Suddenly, Flop slips out from behind a building and calls out to the "enemies" as such.
Flop's attitude was too competitive, even though he had to get his opponent's attention on the spot without any significant meetings.
"......What are you..."
The "enemy" who turned around, distracted by the appearance of Flop, called out as such.
The tone of his voice was cold and without heat, but there was a certain intelligence in it, which was quite a surprise to Rem, who had thought that the other party was a non-verbal, non-negotiable entity.
However--,
"I wonder if you can talk to me? If so, I may have some attitude to change."
"Oh, then you are wrong. All the people of the empire will die."
"I see. --I guess there is no room for negotiation!"
As if to cover the bleak "enemy's" reply, Flop said this out loud. It was a clear signal to melt and move Rem's momentarily lost mind.
Once he heard that much, Rem had no hesitation about what to do after that.
"Ah, ahhhhh--!!"
The moment she decided to take the initiative and move, her voice came out, even though she knew she should keep quiet. If she did not inspire herself from the inside in this way, she could not continue to do what she did afterwards.
She swung the sword out of its scabbard and struck the enemy with all her might. She screamed, "Wha-?!", but she swung the sword two or three times, but she was so selfless that she did not even think about it.
Without giving the "enemy", who had turned their attention to Flop, a chance to turn around, she attacked in a series of furious attacks. She swung too often because she didn't know what or how long it would take to make an opponent unable to engage in combat.
She remembers a hard feeling bouncing off her hand, but everything else is pretty blurry.
It's just--,
"Ma'am! You're all right now! We've got 'em all!"
"Oh......"
Called to her feet, Rem comes back to herself and sees Flop in front of her.
When she looked for the "enemy" that should have been between her and him, she found the "enemy" - the one that had been vanquished - scattered in pieces under Rem's feet.
The way they fell, which was completely different from what he had expected, made Rem roll her eyes, saying, "Huh?"
"To my eyes, it looked like they were broken. In fact, when I look at the wreckage that's left behind, it's cracked like china or glass."
"......They're dead, right?"
"At the very least, I doubt he was alive before he was shattered like this."
Flop answers, crouching down and fingering the scattered pieces of the "enemy".
Hearing his answer, Rem felt terribly bitter, realizing what kind of answer she had been expecting.
Taking the life of a living creature is an abhorrent thing that Rem wants to avoid as much as possible.
So she realized that she had such shallow expectations that she wanted to protect her mind by defining what the "enemy" she had vanquished was, living or otherwise.
"Ma'am, soon their people will notice us too. Let's hurry up and open the door."
Flop made the decision to postpone the sentiments held by Rem at this moment. Rem also did not go against Flop's policy, saying that it was the right thing to do.
At least, she realizes when she tries to open the door of separation to justify her actions.
"Huh?"
The shards of the crushed 'enemy' under their feet wriggle unnaturally in a way that is different from wind and earthquakes.
"--It's not easy to die. Because they're dead."
Just as Rem felt a strange sensation, she heard the voice of the "enemy" slip into the room.
She turns around and see the revival of the "enemy" that Rem and Flop were supposed to have vanquished. The shattered pieces of pottery are connected together as if time is going backwards, showing cracks like seams, but they are back together.
"----"
Stiffened by the improbable sight, Rem and Flop were unable to move.
Hoping to at least protect Flop, Rem quickly put her foot down to do the exact opposite of what she had done when she was protected by him in Guaral.
However, the disturbance in her mind affected her knee step, and her imperfect leg did not let him do so.
Rather, it produces a fatal posture breakdown in front of the "enemy".
She has to raise her sword. Faster than the other guy, though.
It will not raise in time.
"--"
There was a gleam of dull light, and the "enemy" was about to strike Rem and Flop mercilessly with the sword in his hand - just at that moment.
"--El!"
"Minya!!"
Two high-pitched voices overlap, leading to an anomaly that occurred immediately afterwards in front of Rem's eyes.
In front of her, purple crystals hit from behind pierced the chests of three enemies who were swinging their swords. The surprise did not end there.
"Kah"
The next moment, the whole body of the "enemy" turned into the same shikon crystal that pierced its chest, and it shattered again.
If there was a difference, it was that the "enemy", now in purple shards, showed no signs of revival.
And the one who did it, saving Rem and Flop in the nick of time, was--,
"--Thank you for waiting, Rem! Here comes the real star of the show!"
With such a brave declaration, a small shadow jumps down from a large horse that has leapt over the outer wall and entered the compound of the mansion.
Then, the dark-haired, dark-eyed boy, lifting the girl in the dress in his arms, smiled at Rem, closing one eye and showing his teeth.
The flamboyant appearance and declaration often left Rem speechless, and then she said.
"--Who are you?"
The boy who appeared so dashingly was someone who was unrecognizable, at least to Rem's eyes.
△▼△▼△▼△
--The door was slammed with a loud, violent bang, and Katya felt a chill run through her body.
"No, no no, don't come don't come don't come......"
She pushes her wheelchair to the back of the room, holds his habitually hairy head in her hands, and prays desperately.
She sent Rem and Flop away and announced that she would wait alone for a while. As much as possible, even breathing as little as possible, Katya thought she was lurking.
And yet, the "enemy" is aware of their existence and is scaring them to death like this.
"I'm not lucky. I'm still not lucky, ever......"
The fact that the "enemy" came in front of this room was only the result of a chance encounter in an attempt to find survivors. She was the worst of luck, because she was able to quickly find the survivors.
Maybe Rem and the others will not be back in time. Such a convenient thing will never happen to her.
"......Brother."
Clearly, she did not see the other party outside the door.
However, according to Rem and Flop, the third force, which was neither imperial soldiers nor rebels, hanging around outside looked like dead people.
When people mention dead people, the first person that comes to Katya's mind now is her own brother, Jamal Aurelie. The death of his brother, who was not supposed to die even if he was killed, was unexpected.
Even Hollow had to admit that he would like to see her at least one more time.
However, when it came to the unexplainable situation of actually having dead people walking around, all that came to mind was not an obsession with her brother, but self-pity, and it was all very unsightly.
She can't even have that kind of lofty compassion to pray for Rem and Flop's safety and hope they survive in her place. All she has is self-love, self-love for her helpless self.
She is just an imperfect and helpless person who doesn't deserve to be loved by anyone.
"I'm, kind of......"
Hoping, hoping, and wishing to be saved was a mistake in itself. Because of such brazen thinking, Rem and the others must have become collateral damage.
Is this not the result of Katya's bad luck and inability to get Rem and the others involved?
Such thoughts of desperation to no end are interrupted by the creaking of the door, which finally begins to show signs of breaking, and Katya's throat freezes.
She curses her body, which seems incapable of even satisfying a scream in the face of such a hopeless situation.
However--,
"Huh?"
That's when she thought the door would be breached.
On the other side of the door, the "enemy" that was trying to break in here stopped moving. --The "enemy" who was trying to break in on the other side of the door stopped moving - or, more precisely, was forced to stop its destructive act.
The reason is that the "enemy's" entire body was engulfed in red flames and burst into flames.
And then--,
"The micro-spirit that threatened me was one of the last to go."
A different voice, different from that of the "enemy" being burned, reached Katya from behind the door.
Katya looked up at the sound of the swearing voice. Katya then turned the wheels of her wheelchair and attached herself to the door.
She unlocked the door, which she had been afraid to open, with a trembling hand and opened it.
Beyond the door he had opened, a man was standing, kicking the burnt and charred corpse of his "enemy".
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Katya. --Let's get out of here."
He had lost his familiar bandana, and his normally upswept hair was down. Katya's eyes widened at the man she still reached, with thirsty blood on his forehead and cheeks.
Then, as she wheeled toward the man,
"Slow...... slow down, you idiot! I would have killed you if I died!"
And then he dived tearfully into his fiancée, who brutally appeared.
△▼△▼△▼△
--There are various situations moving in the Crystal Palace of the Imperial City, on the star-shaped walls, and in the main camp of the rebels.
The one who knows what is going on and the one who does not know everything that is going on.
The battlefield has become a crucible of chaos where such things are mixed together - no, the Vollachia empire.
The land pulsates, where bloodshed is enforced, where life is respected in its dispersal, and where action is deemed righteous in order to allow ambition to flourish, and those who have been etched in the history of the empire rise one after another.
What should they call it but a nightmare?
"--'The Great Calamity'."
Yes, if they don't call it a nightmare, they have to call it a 'Great Calamity'.
The "stargazers" who pervade the Vollachia empire loudly proclaimed that this was one of the great disasters that would drive the world to destruction, and that such a divine decree had been given.
In itself, it does not matter to the core of what caused the so called 'Great Calamity'.
What is important is that this plague lures the land of the empire to destruction and reaches its end wish.
They will spend every move they can make and every measure they can devise to achieve this.
Vollachia is a land of corpses that has been created by dying and killing, and killing.
If all of that blood shed by Vollachia is the cornerstone of the plan, then the rest.
"All that's left is to carry the plan through to the end. --Deliberation: Required."
Yes, the bearer of the "Great Calamity", the symbol of destruction, quietly and serenely celebrated herself.
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TL's note: Thanks for being patient! I'm back, although - not in the best shape. This translation is pretty low-quality so I'm sure it's riddled with a bunch of contextual and grammatical errors. I highly recommend waiting for a translation from WCT for this chapter.
She bites the ground hard with his animal claws and sends his body flying forward as if she were pulling the earth out of the ground.
The friends of the warriors are struggling to control the battlefield by using their wits and wiles. Frederica Baumann runs through the battlefield to help them.
The beautiful golden-haired leopard passed through the wind and continued to serve as a messenger at the 'second' fastest speed among those running around this battlefield.
The fact that the rebels, who were, as we might say, a mere mob, were able to bring the situation to a stalemate against the Imperial regulars, who were overwhelmingly superior in quality, was largely due to the information picked up by Otto Suwen, Abel, who managed the information, and Frederica, who could quickly transmit the information.
Regardless of whether or not she was aware of her contribution, Frederica was kicking the dirt with important information at this time, and the impact of that information was extraordinarily large.
It is--,
"--There are signs of a change in the earth, my Lord and brother has informed me."
Breathing heavily, Frederica, who had been beastified, hurriedly reported that she had arrived at the main camp while pushing her body, which was growing tired, and that she was willing to expose her bare skin.
That's what Garfiel, who survived the fierce battle while running around the battlefield, told Frederica in a bloodthirsty tone, not proud of his war achievement.
Ragged and bloody, Garfiel survived Frederica's unimaginable death struggle. As a sister, her desire to commend her brother's struggle was postponed in the face of his desperate appeal.
Fortunately, Roswaal, who arrived with the flying dragon squad's reinforcements, is by Garfiel's side and will be able to assist him appropriately. Regardless of Garfiel's feelings about being made to do so by his love enemy.
"--. You're not being very specific. Any details?"
"I don't know, I just have a hunch with my brother's blessing. Just......"
"Just?"
"My brother's intuition is always right, good or bad."
Garfiel's intuition is as good as a beast's, even though he has never been in the wild. In everyday life, Garfiel's instincts do not work well, and he is often disfigured in front of Ram, but when it comes to fighting, his reliability is unparalleled.
That is why Frederica, too, rushed to the main camp without a care in the world.
"----"
Hearing Frederica's complaint, the beautiful Serena Dracroy - the High Countess of the empire who had come to their side with the flying dragon squadron's reinforcements - looked thoughtful.
She is a woman of character, and since she is an acquaintance of Roswaal's, she is probably a woman of character. However, this is also a point in common with Roswaal's acquaintances, but aside from her personality, there is no doubt that she is excellent in terms of her abilities.
This is evident in the fact that he is now deputy to the absent general in the main camp, where the movement of the rebels, now a large army, is regulated.
"Lady Frederica! It is a cloak!"
Frederica, who was looking at Serena's thoughtful profile, had a red cloak draped over her shoulders from behind. The cloak is only worn by "generals" of the Vollachia empire, but the person who put it on was not familiar with the meaning of such an ornament.
So glad for the genuine goodwill, Frederica smiled.
"Thank you, Mr. Schult. I apologize for the embarrassment."
"No, she didn't! Miss Frederica worked hard and ran around among many people! I think it's very admirable!"
Frederica pulled her cloak tighter around him and thanked him, but it was Schult, his small body filled with charm, who was hunched over in front of Frederica.
Schult's feelings of being left behind in the main camp and having no choice but to watch the war situation with a sense of dread must be even more painful than Frederica's, who is able to serve as a messenger.
Still, it is admirable that he is able to say a word of thanks to Frederica when she returns.
"Yeah, Uu wanted to join Mii and the others. I wish I could have been there with you."
Next to Schult, Utakata, whose black hair is dyed peach at the ends, crosses her arms and nods her head.
Flinching at her belligerent remark, "I-I don't know about that", Frederica turned her attention back to Serena.
Serena stroked the left side of her face, a large white sword wound there.
"The land of Vollachia is showing signs of change. It is the leadership of a fool to disregard the advice of the one whom Roswaal has so heavily relied upon."
"Then......"
"It was a bit of a karma, but it also fit with the words left behind by the man who disappeared with the "Stargazer". It was a very selfish thing to say, to entrust me with a great role that only I could fulfill. It was as if--"
"As if?"
He was arrogant as if he were the emperor. He was arrogant as if he were the emperor, and he was the one who had come to avenge it."
Serena, arms crossed, sighs with a complicated expression that can be neither angry nor dismayed.
She mentioned a man with a devil's mask - Abel. He was originally in charge of the overall command of the rebels, but he left the main camp and entrusted his role to Serena.
He has not been able to get any details from Serena about what kind of exchange took place at that time.
"What did Abel say to Serena before he left?"
"--. The end is near. However..."
There, Serena broke off her speech, and her slitted eyes were now filled with indignation. As it was, the "Scorching Lord", known for her caustic posture, indicated the battlefield with her shapely chin.
"The decision will be left undecided, with neither side leaning toward the emperor or the rebels."
"Is it......?"
Frederica is also puzzled as she understands the meaning of Serena's expression, that it's not even to be mentioned.
What kind of situation can be expected when a battle of this magnitude takes place and the outcome is left undecided? In the first place, it would be inappropriate to use words that could be taken to mean that all efforts will be in vain when addressing the person to whom one entrusts the command of the battlefield.
I must say that Abel, who left it unsaid, fatally does not understand the human heart.
Anyway--,
"Does settling mean the battle is over? If so, does that mean that Priscilla, Al, and Heinkel will return?"
"Mr. Schult......"
With melancholy in his curly eyes, Schult stands tall with his small body and looks out over the battlefield.
The boy's eyes turned to a corner of the battlefield that created a particularly harsh environment in the extreme conditions - the red sky and the white sky, two battlefields that even Frederica could not visit.
The mere approach gave the beast's instincts the certainty that its body would not be able to hold out.
"----"
For that reason, Frederica cannot casually utter words of comfort.
The things happening in that space were supposed to be phenomena beyond Frederica's imagination. When Frederica lowered the corners of her eyes, she felt ashamed to admit that she had not seen it.
"Shu, don't worry. Puu and Yo are both strong. They're as good as Mii and Ta."
"Miss Utakata......"
"Uu is also called '-chan'."
"Miss Utakata-chan......"
Utakata, her chest heaving, roughly strokes Schult's peach-colored, habitually hairy head with his hand.
It was a childish and baseless assertion, but it resonated with Schult because there was no hesitation. Frederica's lips were tearing at the sight of Schult shaking his head.
Then again, turning to Serena,
"What are you going to do about it, Master Serena? If you don't leave your brother's intuition behind, then you need to deal with what Master Abel has to say......"
"It's a lost cause. Of course, there is no time to be lost. --Look."
Serena, who again shuffled her chin, Frederica said, "What?" and her gaze is directed to the battlefield. In Frederica's green eyes, an anomaly on the battlefield is visible even from a distance - a rampaging giant human-shaped wall, one of the "Nine Divine Generals" turns his back and darts into the imperial city.
"Is that...... heading to the Crystal Palace?"
"More and more, I wonder if the man is right. --I don't know the truth of your brother's statement that Vollachia will be the enemy."
Serena frowned with a face that had an idea of the "Steel Man" Mogro Hagane's outburst.
And then--,
"Tell everyone. --As soon as there is anything unusual in the Crystal Palace, suspend the battle action. Prepare for this battle, for the blood that has been spilled, for the lives that have been spilled for nothing."
△▼△▼△▼△
--A high-pitched sound, the blue dragon sword and the axe, the barbarian sword, strike each other in mid-air, sparking off sparks.
Steel that is wielded mercilessly to take the life of an opponent.
He was becoming numb to it, but now that it was directed at him, the fear and realization that his life was being threatened once again surged up from within his bones and skin.
He had never considered himself mentally fragile. Rather, he had always thought that, compared to other children of his age, he is blessed with boldness, combined with the experience of the ordeals under which he had dived.
However, the foundation of such trust in oneself is likely to be shaken if one's skin tingles from being roasted by the blasts and one feels breathless, as if one's lungs have shrunk under the strain.
And the most important reason why he thinks that--,
"--"
Even in the midst of battle, a glowering gaze is directed toward them.
The man's gaze, as if he had not forgotten about them and was holding a blade against them, was the biggest factor that increased Petra's suffocation.
An imperial soldier with a bandana wrapped around his head, wielding an axe.
This person, whose name is unknown, is the true identity of the difficult enemy that is currently tormenting Petra and her friends.
If you are alive, you are always next to death.
In any situation, a situation can change drastically right after a blink of an eye. The man in front of her seemed to be an example of this unreasonableness, and Petra bit her teeth hard.
Kneeling on the ground, she supports Otto, who is breathing heavily. Otto's fatigue is heavy from the impact of the magic stone used for the emergency evacuation, the majority of which he has taken on.
That is why Petra could never be weak on the battlefield, where both the strong and the weak put their lives on the line.
"Hyah! Al-chin!"
Oh, hey, Miss Medium-chan."
That high voice, disproportionate to the blood-scented battlefield, is linked with a distracted voice, and sword fights are exchanged with the pitch-black murderous intent.
Al works in tandem with Medium, who uses his small body to the fullest, and crosses paths with the imperial soldiers. Their combat power was not enough to overwhelm the enemy, and a fierce grinding battle ensued.
Sorry to Al, but when he showed up with reinforcements, Petra thought he was a disappointment.
"If that was Mr. Garf or Emily......"
Simply, they would have been not only a reliable ally, but also a competent opponent.
Al's ability to do otherwise is not very high in Petra's view. Even better than noncombatants like Petra and Otto, he felt weaker than anyone in Shudrak.
However, in the sense that their strength is not that outstanding, the same is true of the opposing imperial soldiers.
Surely those imperial soldiers were no weaker than Emilia, Garfiel, and those imperial "Nine Divine Generals" or whatever they were. Still, Petra was afraid of him.
You don't need a lot of magic to get rid of bugs on flowers. A pinch of the finger or a little water is all it takes. This attitude of the imperial soldier was evident in his attitude.
Petra and her colleagues on this battlefield are a little more than a few hard-working little insects--.
"--That's nasty, dude."
Suddenly, a man's voice slips into Petra's cowering ears.
For a moment, his shoulders jumped, but it was not Petra and the others who called out to him, but the two who were engaged in a sword fight with him, and that was Al.
"Dah! Ngah! Yah!"
The man swung the axe in his hand and aimed at Al's thick neck. But when it was caught by his one-armed blue dragon sword, he turned himself and struck two or three heavy blows.
Al manages to parry the barrage of blows with an unusually dangerous hand.
Petra was not at all at ease and could not help but let out a little scream.
"Somehow, I'd like to cover for Mr. Al......"
The same anxiety seemed to be in Otto's mind, and there was more than exhaustion and frustration in his voice.
There was a sense of urgency in Al's battle that came with a bang, and although he is lucky to be holding his own now, there were five attacks that could have killed him if he had made a wrong move.
It seems to Petra a bad bet for a minute to see if she can count the sixth time.
"It's still a pain in the ass."
However, it seems that the opinions of the imperial soldiers are slightly different from those of Petra and her colleagues.
The man, who continued to shrug off the attack, even though it was dangerous, took a large step backward, whereupon he raised his axe-less hand and waved it lightly in the direction of Al and Medium.
Immediately after, a fireball was born in the air, and it ran furiously toward them, burning the sky.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!"
"Kyaaaah!"
A spirit that is being obeyed in a way that is not straight forward, although I don't understand the logic.
Al and Medium held their heads and ran for cover as the fireball it unleashed approached them. The fireball missed them and spread to the surrounding trees and grass on the ground, causing the flames to swell.
"This is bad......"
You can see why Otto would mutter that.
If you look, the flames brought by the fireball did not burn Al and the others, but instead burned the surrounding area, surrounding Petra and the others who were facing the imperial soldiers and trying to block their escape route.
The melting and burning flames formed a circle, in which they were trapped.
Even if they missed, it was probably the aim of the imperial soldiers to block the escape route in this way, but the other party tilted his head, leaving Petra and the others to gnash their teeth at the situation.
"I don't like it."
The quiet, almost out-of-place comment prompted Al to say, "Huh?"
He held a blue dragon sword in his hand, indicating his burning surroundings.
"What are you saying after all this? Take care of the resources, take care of the resources. How hard do plants have to work to get oxygen...... so that humans can take deep breaths like this?"
"I could have killed you six times so far, but I haven't been able to kill you once. Even when I threw you into a place where you couldn't dodge. It's disgusting."
"What do they say about me? Today is a bad day."
Al's response is met with a frown and the man's disbelief.
The Imperial soldiers seem quite puzzled, not knowing the bottom of Al's ability. Frankly, it is very disgusting to agree with that person, but Petra has the same doubts about Al.
Al is dying, and yet he does not die.
He is responding to the attacks of the imperial soldiers, but with his precarious movements, he manages to avoid fatal wounds. --He is surely avoiding only fatal wounds.
But it's not like he's hiding his ability, it's very tinny.
So the imperial soldiers also cannot get a decision to cut their losses.
"If you're like me, you don't have any preparation, you're just going through the motions. In that sense, your bro back there is probably more my kind of guy."
"......Is that me? If so, I object on my honor."
"Yes! Your character is different! You are more boisterous and nasty."
"I guess it stings me, too, instead of being on my side."
Otto, unexpectedly pulled into the topic, chuckles bitterly.
Petra felt a little frustrated by Otto's attitude, but that soon disappeared.
"----"
Otto glanced at her and winked at Petra. Petra thought about it, sensing something other than bitterness in his expression, something he was planning to do.
Without uttering a word, he said that he had a thought that he wanted Petra to guess.
"I spent too long."
Immediately after Petra guessed this, an Imperial soldier with a cold voice snapped his fingers.
Immediately afterward, a fireball, smaller than the previous one, was born, and it scattered in all directions at a blinding speed, igniting not Petra and her friends but the trees and ground around them.
The expansion of the fire formation to surround it, and the flames and black smoke that accompany it--,
'Ah-cha-cha-cha! It's burning, burning!"
"Easy, girl! Come here before your braids burn!"
Surrounded by flames, Medium jumps with her long braids. She straddles the line of flames and jumps in beside Al, who looks back at her with tears in his eyes.
He gripped his barbarian sword back tightly and tried to glare at the person who had done this to him--,
"Huh?!"
"Seriously......"
Medium's surprise is combined with Al's sigh.
The cause of their reaction, the disappearance of the imperial soldiers who created the spectacle of flames.
"----"
The figure of the Imperial soldier vanished in the flames and black smoke. Did he flee to hide from the flames, or was he waiting for them to slowly burn to death?
"Tch......"
"There's no one here at all! We have to get out of here before we burn up too!""
His helmet-covered vision swept around as Al searched for the figure of the man who had disappeared in the flames. Meanwhile, he holds his own blue dragon sword against his own neck, his eyes fixed on the imperial soldier in a strange stance.
Medium also looks around a bit beside him, but she is impatient with enemies she can't find, and pleads with them to avoid the intensifying fire.
Indeed, it is natural to think that the priority here should be to get away from the danger zone, that it would be a mistake to lose the escape route by fixating on the whereabouts of the man.
However--,
"----"
Otto's hand was placed on Petra's hand, which was supporting her body, and Otto put a slight amount of pressure on it. Petra takes the tension in his grip as a silent instruction.
Petra strongly agrees with this caution, saying that they must not let our guard down.
On top of that, Petra put her other hand on top of the hand that was overlapping Otto's--,
"--Thank you, Petra-chan."
Just after uttering these words of gratitude, Otto twisted in place and fell to the ground on his back. --A moment later, an axe cleaved through the side of his head just in time.
"----"
The killing intent of the imperial soldiers approaching through the smoke from the fire formation laid down struck out.
The man, who has been emptied out of the moment of certainty, looks lightly at this fact. But, as if quickly regaining his composure, the man tries to pull back the axe he swung--,
"Jiwald!"
"Guh"
Petra held up five fingers, and the weakly powered Jiwald emitted from all of her fingers radiated across the face of the imperial soldier, and one of the five shots burned the opponent's right eye.
It was Petra's attack, sacrificing power for surface control. It successfully achieved its goal, and the man who was roasted in the eyeballs cries out in agony and bends over.
Then, a spinning figure leapt from the air.
"Go on!"
It's Al, hunched over the flames, and Medium, who leapt on his back to step up to the plateau.
Medium, spinning vertically, flashed a barbarian sword held rigidly in both hands, and it struck the Imperial soldier, who had lost his posture, without mercy.
"Uryaah!"
A hard sound echoed, and a red of a different coloration mingled with it in the burning flames.
The sound that echoed was not the sound of a skull cracking under a barbarian sword. Petra raised her hand and saw. Petra saw the man voluntarily go to meet the swinging sword with his forehead.
That hard sound was probably from the foreheadplate he had planted under his bandana. That's how he got hit by Medium. Of course, it was not unscathed.
Bumping, he swung his axe with his hand on his forehead, awkwardly dodging the follow-up blow and dropping, dropping, dropping--,
"Shit......"
A bandana stained with blood fell from the man's head. The man's broken forehead was bleeding unstoppably, even though he was holding the bandana by his forehead pad.
The man's eyes glared at Otto and Petra as he bled profusely.
The look in his eyes asks why his surprise attack was detected--,
"--I won't tell you. I am not your parent or brother."
"You're lying on the ground," Otto said, as if still proud of his victory.
In response, the imperial soldier clicks his tongue. He clicks his tongue, wipes the blood from his forehead with his palm, and said,
"Ah! Wait! It's not fair to run away!"
There, he became enraged and chose not to do anything reckless like jumping on him.
With his right eye closed, blocked by heat and blood, the imperial soldier disappears behind the flames. Petra is alerted to another surprise attack by her opponent, who is once again out of sight.
"He wouldn't come...... he didn't seem desperate enough to keep fighting at a disadvantage."
"Ugh~, I'm not convinced. It's as if we were the only ones who were desperate."
I understand how you feel, young lady. But it was the other side that ran away without a word. We won, we won. --We wooooon!!"
"WE WON-!!"
Al and Medium raise a victory cry as they head in the direction of the disappearing imperial soldiers.
In fact, they don't know if that would be harassing those Imperial soldiers, but it made Petra's heart a little lighter with the two of them.
Anyway--,
"How'd you read his move at the end? It was a gamble, wasn't it?"
"I don't take credit for that, it was Petra's help."
With the help of Al, who sheathed his blue dragon sword, the triggered Otto shows Petra. However, Petra also cannot take credit for everything.
"I was the target in the first place, so I knew the last move would be aimed at me. It was the sound of footsteps that gave me the timing and direction of the move."
"Footsteps?"
"You've heard the children under the earth on Otto's 'channel'......, right?"
You have answered my question.
Petra clasps her hands together in front of her chest at Otto's affirmation that her prediction was right on the money.
Originally, Otto used his "Divine Protection of Soul Language" to seize control of information on the entire battlefield, which is why he was targeted by the enemy. Although it is not known how, those imperial soldiers appeared to have lost Otto's blessing, which allowed them to hear the voices of animals and insects and grasp the whole picture.
To capture such an opponent, the same method as before was not enough.
"So, the kids under the dirt...... were the ones Otto said were useless because they didn't have eyes and couldn't see what was going on out there."
"Maybe I would have chosen my words a little better! ......Anyway, I listened to the sounds of animals and insects in the ground and used footsteps to figure out where they were. It was a bit haphazard, but Petra-chan helped me to pick up the voices with her yang magic."
"Otto, it's because you signaled me with an evil look."
When his hand was held tightly, Otto asked Petra to cover him with yang magic.
With his help, Otto was able to guess his opponent's position from the sound of his footsteps, avoiding the final ambush and, conversely, inflicting a painful blow on his opponent, forcing him to retreat.
"--. To tell you the truth, I would have liked to have made him incapable of combat."
"I agree. He wasn't strong, he was just good at killing. More than that......"
"Hot, hot, hot! We've got to get out of here or we'll get steamed up!"
Retreating from a dangerous enemy does not break out of a situation where the surrounding area is on fire.
Hearing Medium's complaint, Al said, "Yes", lending Otto his shoulder. Petra, together with Medium, leads them in search of a place where the effects of the flames are less severe.
And so, the group tries to leave before they are engulfed in flames--,
"Let's get out of here as soon as possible. We now have a reason to return to the main camp."
"......That's not exactly a preamble to bragging about the saga of escaping from a dangerous opponent."
"Yes, it's bad news. The clock is ticking. ......I was trying to listen for footsteps earlier, and this is just a side note."
A disgusting preamble that is uttered at the point where one difficulty has passed.
Chased by the heat of the flames, Petra turned her attention to the statement that she still couldn't miss, and a reluctant-looking Otto was behind her - or rather, looking out over the entire battlefield,
"I think the whole battlefield is about to become dangerous from a different angle, like dragons and burning skies. And it's right in front of us."
Coincidentally, at the same time that his brother had detected it with the "Divine Protection of Soul Language", Otto Suwen had obtained the same information with the "Divine Protection of Soul Language" and uttered it.
△▼△▼△▼△
"--I hear that a 'Great Calamity' is approaching that will endanger the Vollachia Empire. As a general of this empire! As a 'General' who has survived the shame of his life! At all costs! I cannot die without being of service to His Excellency the Emperor!"
He was told old by a large man chained to an underground wall - a man who identified himself as Goz Ralfon - and Rem understood that problems other than civil war were shaking the imperial capital.
Goz, who had been given only one meal every two days and was quite weak, was surprisingly revitalized and regained his vitality with Rem's comforting healing magic.
He thought perhaps a large part of that effect was due to his own assumptions.
"Girl, your treatment has saved my life! I would have invited you to my home and introduced you to my wife and children as my benefactor, but I must go to His Excellency now! I will repay you for this!!"
"Uh, yes."
"If possible, leave here and join the regulars! If it's Number One General Mogro Hagane or Number Two General Kafma Irulux, I won't make it worse! Any other general will be avoided! I can't talk to you!"
With a loud and boisterous voice, Goz, his chains removed, leaped out of the basement at a tremendous speed, and, after blackmailing the soldiers guarding the mansion, ordered them to make their way to the Crystal Palace, which was visible from a distance.
In response, the attitude of the guards was split in two.
Apparently, there was a division among the soldiers in the compound between those who knew about Goz and those who did not. Those who were kept in the dark were not amused, and those who were disclosed the information were that much more trusted by Berstetz.
Therefore--,
"I see. You stand before me."
Goz, without a cloak, his upper body bare of muscular armor, looks at the guards who have drawn their weapons and blocked his way.
Goz is unarmed and has been in captivity for more than a day or two. He was far from being in perfect condition. But it was not against such odds that the guards took a stand.
"I will do so. As I am loyal to the Emperor, you are loyal to the Prime Minister. I will see to it that you are honored!!"
The overwhelming demonic energy emanating from him was unclouded as he looked at the soldiers opposing him.
Then there is the one-sidedness of the bare-knuckle Goz fight.
A huge fist bone is swung, and several guards are blown away by a single shot.
The slight advantage in numbers was not even a margin of error. It was a moment of overwhelming control.
"Abel told me your name as one of the 'Nine Divine Generals'......"
In fact, the only two real "Nine Divine Generals" Rem has seen are Arakiya and Madelyn in the castle city of Guaral.
Compared to both of them, Goz's presence is second to none.
He may be at a disadvantage now, though, because of the weapons and equipment and then the wear and tear.
"Well fought! That is why you are the Sword-Wolf of the Empire!"
In the middle of the battered soldiers, Goz thrusts his arms up in the air and speaks his praise in a heated manner.
As I recall, I had heard that he had sacrificed himself to help Abel, the real emperor, escape, but he was in such good spirits that I thought it was a lie that he was exhausted from being tied up.
It is unclear why he was tethered to the basement of the mansion.
"Once again, Prime Minister Berstetz Fondalfon! You will not get away with this! And neither will you, General Chisha! Uohhhhh--!!"
Before he could discuss these details, Goz had dashed out of the main gate of Berstetz's mansion with the guards who agreed with him.
Overwhelmed by the grandeur of the "Lion Knight", Rem could do nothing but watch her back.
But--,
"I have no business in that castle."
In an unexpected turn of events, the soldiers in the mansion were gone, and there were no more obstacles to prevent Rem.
Rem checked to see if the soldiers struck down by Goz were alive or dead, gave minimal treatment to the seriously wounded, and moved around the house, using one of her long swords as a walking stick, to a room that she had passed many times.
And then--,
"Miss Katya, it's me, Rem. Please come out."
"......I definitely don't want to get out of here. W-what was that loud voice just now?"
"I understand how you feel. But that loud voice has already left. I think we should talk about what we are going to do about it too."
"What we are going to do about it......"
A voice through the door, in front of Katya's room, who never showed up, prompts Rem to make her decision.
At present, the urgency to leave the mansion in a hurry has diminished because Goz's bravery, for better or worse, has wiped out the mansion's soldiers.
However--,
"The 'Great Calamity'......"
That's why Goz was in such a hurry to get to the emperor, who he said was in the Crystal Palace.
Precisely, the main reason why Goz went to the Crystal Palace would be to confront the imposter who is deceiving the emperor. Nevertheless, it is true that the purpose is to stop that unidentifiable calamity.
In any case, Goz's advice was not a good one to stay here.
Then--,
"--Well, I have no reason to leave, because I-I'm a hostage."
"There are no more soldiers to hold on to. There is no longer any reason to take hostages."
"S-still......"
"--. I understand. At least open the door. If I could see your safe face."
Katya was perplexed, but remained unyielding in her insistence, and Rem folded.
After a few moments of silence at this last request of Rem, the wheels of the wheelchair are heard moving and the door is unlocked. And so, as the door to the room is opened.
"Excuse me. Let's go."
"Huh?! Hey, you son of a?!"
"I'm sorry. I lied when I said I just wanted to see you safe."
After getting into the room, Rem found Katya by the door, and quickly walked behind her and pushed her wheelchair out of the room.
A panicked Katya tries to resist, but she is powerless to stop the wheel and is unable to resist Rem's forceful power, and is pushed out of the way.
"Wait! I'm here with someone who has to wait......"
"I'm very aware of that. But it is dangerous to wait here. Even if we wait for your fiancé, let's at least go somewhere safe."
"Safe? There is no safer place in the capital than here--"
There is no way, Katya was probably going to say.
But Katya, who was in the middle of her speech, was in the middle of twisting her head left and right to glare at Rem behind her, when suddenly her eyes opened and she stared at the sky.
Katya's reaction caused Rem to look up as well, and a large shadow loomed over their heads as they walked down the hallway of the mansion.
--The enormous, human-shaped wall straddles the mansion and is a step toward the back of the Imperial City.
"----"
The impact is greater than the rampage of Goz or any of the attacks of the rebels trying to invade the imperial capital, or the giant foot that passes close at hand, stomping and running through the city.
Feeling the wheels of her wheelchair lift off the ground, Rem and Katya looked at each other in horror.
"I-I'm sure we're not talking about safety here......"
QYes, let's hurry."
As she said, she thought the current giant step was one of the exceptions in this whole fiasco, but it would be silly to go out of my way to say that and cause Katya's displeasure.
Katya, who was obediently obeying, pushed her wheelchair, and Rem followed her.
"Your companion is on bed rest, isn't he? What are you going to do?"
"I really shouldn't move too much. But I can't put it that way......"
Katya responds to Katya's words, and Rem arrives at the desired room with her.
Among them is Flop O'Connell, who was brought to the mansion with Rem and is still under house arrest for treatment of his serious injuries.
As he answered to Katya, he would like to be laid to rest if possible, but--,
"Mr. Flop, it's me. May I interrupt?"
"Mm, my lady! I'll open it now."
A knock on the door was immediately answered, followed immediately by the door opening. Rem and Katya rolled their eyes at the response, which could only be that they were right next to the door, and it was no surprise that Flop, who was apparently lurking by the door, was clutching a hand mirror in his hand.
"Um, Mr. Flop, what's with the mirror?"
"I was actually thinking of it as a weapon. You heard a very loud voice earlier, didn't you? The city is getting noisy, and I thought someone hostile might come barging in."
Flop answers while twirling a hand mirror. In case you were wondering, since Rem and the others were nominally prisoners of war or hostages, there were no tools in their respective rooms that could be used as weapons.
However, a mirror as a countermeasure is not a good idea.
"......You mean you can fight with that mirror?"
'Hate to say it, but that's about all I had in the room. But I've never fought with a mirror before, so maybe I have a talent for sleeping! What does your wife think?"
"I agree. I want to stop wasting time and talk about what we need to talk about."
Flop responds to Katya's eyes in his usual tone. She's honestly relieved that he is who he is, but on the other hand, she'd like to leave it at that for once in a dire situation.
Anyway--,
"She is Miss Katya. She's someone I met at the mansion."
"I'm Flop O'Connell. Your lady told me about you. You're a friend of hers."
"......I-I don't remember being friends with this, girl, but..."
"If so, then you better plan on it. Making good friends is a clue to a good life. Even if you don't, there's nothing wrong with having a lot of friends."
"I'm, probably, not very good at making......"
As Rem had predicted, Flop has a personality that Katya does not like. Nevertheless, since Flop's side of the business is of a nature that does not mind being told frankly by Katya, the best situation is if Katya can just look bitter.
"Mr. Flop, the situation in the Imperial City right now......"
"I know roughly what you mean. Madelyn came to greet me before I left for the battle."
"......Madelyn says hello, is that right?"
From an unexpected connection, she knew that Madelyn went to Flop's, but she never expected that they would be friends, even coming to greet each other before going into battle.
However, if one of the "Nine Divine Generals" had spoken to him directly, it is even possible that Flop would know more about the situation outside than Rem.
"Then we'll talk quickly. The guards of the compound are already gone, so you are free to stay or get out, but...... I say we should leave the compound."
"I wonder if that had anything to do with the loud voices and the tremendous earth tremors we heard earlier?"
"Yes. But that's not all. Something worse could happen."
"S-so it's worse than that?! Y-you've got to be kidding me......."
Rem's concern to answer Flop, and Katya's face pales and shudders when she hears it.
All this is not to scare Katya into doing what he says, but to talk about a real, though unconfirmed, possibility of danger. On the other hand, however, it is not more than a "something might happen" story, so it does not amount to a confirmation to move.
"Still, you think your lady should leave."
"--Yes."
Asked this by Flop, Rem nodded without hesitation.
Although under house arrest, life in the mansion was not so inconvenient. Although they were forbidden to go out, they were relatively allowed to come and go between each other's rooms, and they were entrusted with treating Flop's injuries. She was able to meet Katya, and there was no room for great anger or hatred toward the supposed enemy, the Berstetz.
As for the reason for Berstetz's rebellion, there is a suspicion in Rem's mind that it is Abel=Vincent who is to blame, even more so.
Nevertheless, without those circumstances, Rem's feelings are probably the most decisive reason for wanting to leave the mansion.
If she continues to be a prisoner, she will unsettle many people who have been good to Rem.
Such is the reason why they should get out of such an unjust and dishonest situation as soon as possible.
"Alright, I understand. I have no objection. Let's go with your lady and Miss Katya."
"Are you sure?"
"Even if you stay, there's nothing you can do except stay in bed. I'm still a peddler, so I have to be somewhat physically active or I get anxious."
Flop makes a clenched fist as he laughs like that, perhaps to keep Rem on her toes. Then he interrupts with the word, "And,"
"I've been entrusted with the task of delivering a message. If I accidentally fall asleep here and miss the opportunity to tell them, I can't face the world or my sister."
"A message...... from whom?"
"He was a renegade, a sword-wolf of the empire who had taken a huge gamble in my opinion."
Rem sniffs at Flop, who winks at him with one eye closed and replies, "I'm sorry."
Apparently, this is not a partner that Rem has in mind, but it is nice to know that Flop is coming with them.
"As you can imagine, it's no mean feat to carry Miss Katya to Mr. Flop while forcing her to push her wheelchair......"
"You ask me what I'm going to do, but you have no intention of making me do it!"
"If you guys aren't in danger, I'd be happy to leave you alone......"
If it is not safe to take them out by force, they have no choice but to take them out by force. As expected, Rem does not want to save them to the extent that they are beyond her power, but if she can reach them, she has no choice.
She does so even if it twists the other person's feelings. --Knowing that it doesn't look good on the outside.
"----"
For a moment, Rem felt like it was doing the same thing as the hand extended toward her, and she squirmed with mixed emotions.
She quickly shakes off the sensation and nods to Katya and Flop, and says, "Well,"
"Be careful when you leave the house. Be cautious when you encounter someone. You may not even know the person who is riding into the Imperial City."
"Don't be afraid. ......And you're injured, right? Can you go?"
"Haha, thanks for your concern. Fortunately, your lady has been very dedicated to the healing magic. The gouged flesh is filling in and I think the blood is coming back. As for the physical part, well, that's the thing, so I hope you'll give me a shout when you're ready to run."
"I will take that into consideration. I don't have perfect legs, and Katya is in a wheelchair."
Once again, she realizes that each of the three assembled faces is physically insecure. Still, none of them can afford to be absent, so it is imperative that we join forces.
And so, with such enthusiasm,
"Sometimes, ma'am, what about the rest of us who are being held captive?"
".......I forgot."
Flop points out the stakes, and Rem puts her hand to her forehead.
The mansion has a separate building, and in that building there are prisoners of war other than Rem and the others - several of them claiming to be the "Black-Haired Prince", the illegitimate son of the Emperor of Vollachia, whatever that means.
Most of the beings were apparently used to create a cause to rebel against the emperor, but it seems that Berstetz, who had rebelled over the issue of the emperor's heir, was no stranger to this, and prisoners of these beings were taken to see if they were real or not, whenever possible.
"Frankly, they are neither our enemies nor our allies, so we prefer to ignore them."
Currently, aside from Katya, the position of Rem and Flop is very complicated and difficult.
Although he had no strong cause or claim, he had joined the rebel group represented by Abel in a no-holds-barred manner. However, he was separated from that group and was not acquainted with the group of captive princes.
They don't know if they are right or wrong, and their attitude toward the Rem and the others is unknown.
"----"
So the real intention is what she said just before is what it is.
However, it is emotionally painful for Rem and her friends to leave the mansion to escape the "Great Calamity" that is looming, and to leave them in a locked away place.
Even if it is difficult to pick up all the pieces, they want to reduce human deaths as much as possible.
That is why the guards who were beaten up by Goz were given the bare minimum of treatment.
"......Why don't we just find the key and hook it up where we can get it ourselves?"
"Oh......"
"I-I don't know, but. I don't know, but if you think it might be dangerous, I don't want to get involved. But I don't want to be bothered with it! That's crazy!!"
"No, no, it's not crazy. Yes, it is."
Katya, seeing Rem's distress, offered a compromise.
Rem, who had only one of two options in her mind: to help or not to help, felt saved by Katya's words.
She's right, just find the key to the remote and make sure their captors have a little trouble getting to it. That should keep them safe and their peace of mind.
"Looks like it's all coming together."
Flop nodded in satisfaction at the settlement of Rem and Katya's story.
Meanwhile, braiding a piece of his own long blond hair, he gently puts his hand on the door. Then, as he pushed it open.
"Well, let's wait a bit...... to find out where the key is to the remote."
Flop, who was about to advance to the other side of the door, shut the door as he retracted his earlier words. Rem and Katya roll their eyes at this sudden action.
However, Flop indicated with a finger to his own mouth, "Be quiet," and opened the closed door slightly to look out. From Flop's side, Rem also peeked outside.
"--ah"
"W-wait, what? I don't have a good feeling about that reaction at all......"
Rem choked up when she found the reason why Flop closed the door, outside the door, and Katya, frightened by the presence, shook her voice.
But she was not able to prepare the words to release Katya's anxiety at once.
Because for both Rem and Flop, it was a sight beyond the realm of the imagination.
In the courtyard of Berstetz's mansion, a figure stands there, different from the soldiers.
It is--,
"......What's up with these people looking so pale? Do they not get enough sleep?"
And the sight of the shadows, clad in an air of bleakness, was so bizarre that Flop's redundancy sounded dry.
A group of people with lifeless complexions and visible cracks in their skin, all of which were immediately recognizable, were taking over the residence of the Imperial Prime Minister.
△▼△▼△▼△
"......At a glance, they were all dressed as Imperial soldiers, weren't they?"
Flop muttered among the breathless Rem and Katya as he closed the door without making a sound.
To be honest, the strangeness of the scene he saw was too strong for Rem, who did not have the time to pay attention to that many details, to irresponsibly affirm Flop's statement.
It's just--,
"Y-you said creeps are entering the compound...... doesn't that mean someone from the rebel army is trying to kill the Prime Minister?"
"It was a different vibe from that kind of inability to talk. It wasn't like they were mad or overexcited or anything like that......"
"It's like a different creature in human form. I also felt that it was difficult to tell if I could understand. My wounds ache with a bad feeling."
Rem agrees with Flop's opinion without denial.
Unlike the two who checked outside, Katya has not seen the person in question, but they can assure her that she would be distraught if she looked outside.
Having seen someone with whom he felt a different sense of reason, Rem suddenly thought.
"No way, is that the 'Great Calamity'......?"
The "Great Calamity," of which they have only heard words from Goz and can only imagine that it is bad anyway, but when they hear that it is imminent and see the outside presence, there does not seem to be a connection between them.
Besides, this would be Rem's intuition as one who can use healing magic.
"I didn't feel alive. It was as if......"
"Y-you won't tell me you're a dead man, will you? Oh no, that's ridiculous and hollow......"
"It might be hasty to laugh it off. Outside they were dressed as imperial soldiers, but come to think of it, their armor might have been tattered, as well as their faces and necks. Perhaps they could still have the scars from before they were born...... I wonder?"
"You wonder, I don't know!"
Katya is upset by Flop's true-to-life expression, her eyes black and white.
However, the fact that she strongly denies it is a sign that she senses something unusual is going on with Rem and Flop.
Worse still--,
"--Gyah"
"Guh"
"--ah"
The small cries of pain heard one after another were the cries of the guards who had been knocked down by Goz, who was lying outside, and who Rem had only patched up.
They did not see it clearly with their own eyes.
"......Apparently, it's hard to talk and understand each other."
Flop's words, with a severe tightening of his cheeks, told the story of the end of the soldiers who could not be overturned.
That mysterious force with the pale face tore into the fallen soldiers. Without any room for negotiation. --It is hard to imagine that Rem and the others would be an exception to this rule.
"I'm......"
Would it have been a different story if the soldiers had at least been put in a room somewhere?
If they had been moved to a safe area as they fell defenseless, they could have avoided a one-sided death. Then the responsibility for their deaths would lie with Rem, who did not do everything in his power to help them.
"--, that's not what I'm thinking about!"
"M-Miss Katya......"
"If you dip now, it won't just kill all three of us. No, I don't want to, I, I don't want to......!"
Katya's hands clasped Rem's face as she almost turned over in frustration, forcing her to look up. The teary-eyed Katya bit down accusingly, trying to eat away at Rem's weakness.
The vigor and straightforwardness of Katya's words took Rem's breath away.
Then she nodded quietly.
"Mr. Flop, the situation has changed. We have no choice but to open a breakaway here."
"Yes, you're right, ma'am. I was thinking the same thing. I don't know if I can get along with the crown prince and the others who were caught away from us, but there's also the idea that the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"Yes. If we had a common enemy, we could possibly go hand in hand."
Flop is quick to agree with the announcement of the change of policy. With Rem and Flop's agreement, Katya also shakes her head in agreement,
"Once I've decided to do that, I'll do it quickly and quickly! You're going to have to break the lock on the apartment. Y-you can do it, can't you?"
"......I just found a sword I picked up instead of a cane, so I can use that."
The sword would be broken, but they could at least break the lock on the door in exchange.
It is no longer possible to walk around the mansion looking for the key.
"We need to get there before their attention turns away, but the problem is......"
"Miss Katya's wheelchair......"
Staring eyes are drawn to the wheelchair.
The wheelchair, a gift from his fiancée, is a very well-made, high-end one, but even so, it does not hide the sound of the wheels turning and the various parts of the wheelchair in operation.
It is also unsuitable for situations where you have to move to avoid detection.
"I-I'm......"
Hit with the same challenge, Katya's gaze swims sloppily to the left and right, up and down.
However, as long as she is crippled, Katya and her wheelchair are inseparable. She herself is aware of this, and after some time of struggling with it, Katya said.
"Put it down and go open the door. I-I'll wait for you alone......"
"Alone...... but that's just..."
"Lock the door! If you stay in your room without saying a word, they won't know. If they're dead people, it's safer to stay hidden and not do anything stupid. I'm not asking you to do anything dangerous."
The fact that she is speaking so quickly in an upturned voice is evidence that she is in such a hectic state of mind.
However, it was painfully obvious to both Rem and Flop that Katya was speaking from what little courage she had.
And that feeling, that trust, should not be disregarded.
"Mr. Flop, please let Miss Katya......"
"No, you must take Miss Katya's spirit into consideration, ma'am. We have a better chance of winning if it takes two of us, you and I. Worst case scenario, one of us could take the bait."
"----"
It really is the worst case scenario, but if you turn away from what you don't want to think about, you will be helplessly devastated by the worst when you actually find yourself in that situation.
So, while considering the possibility of being struck by the worst of it, Rem nodded.
"We will definitely return with an open doorway."
"A-And do it well. You have to go back, too. Absolutely!"
"--Yes."
Holding Katya's hand, Rem exchanges firm promises.
He carried the worry of the clumsy Katya on his back and kept the weight of it in his heart to remember. As it was, Rem nodded to Flop and walked out of the room.
"----"
They exit into the corridor, gasping for breath and ducking for cover, and try to make their way to the back of the mansion, where they can explore their surroundings - the creepy "enemy".
The scent of blood wafting in the wind along the way belongs to the soldiers who have been killed. More than a dozen enemies who have done so are walking around the mansion with dangerous gait.
"......You look like you're looking for something."
"A living person, perhaps."
"No, it was more like a stopgap measure to get rid of the security people. There are not enough people to go around, and it seems to me that they have a more obvious goal."
On their way, keeping low, Rem and Flop exchanged opinions on their opponents' behavior.
Hearing Flop's sharp insights made Rem cringe because she felt like he was missing the point all the time.
"I don't know about this one either, because it's just what I thought."
And so it was frustrating to let Flop mend things.
At the very least, he would like to contribute to freeing those trapped in the separation and make up for it.
"--That's not good."
Fortunately, the sensory functions of the strange-looking "enemy" did not seem to differ much from those of humans, and it did not supplement them with mysterious performance that even Rem and the others did not understand.
Thanks to this, they managed to get to the remote area without being seen by the other party. But then a problem arose.
"As I expected, you didn't overlook it entirely."
Rem nodded silently at Flop's words, who saw the same thing.
Around the detached area, hiding behind a building and watching the situation, three of the "enemies" in question can be seen. It is unnatural for them not to stop by such a conspicuous building since they are looking for something.
The problem is that if the 'crown prince' and his men are kept in the building, even in a sitting room, the 'enemy' will unilaterally lash them as soon as they break through the door.
There is no time to spare. If they do not act immediately, their lives will be taken.
"Ma'am, I'll distract him. Can the three of you do it while I'm distracted?"
"----"
"I don't mind if the roles are reversed, but I think your lady is more likely than my hemming and hawing. I need you to decide now."
A forceful but necessary declaration of decision.
In response, Rem closed her eyes for a second, then quickly opened them.
And then--,
"Let's do it. I'll go around back. Mr. Flop, just for a moment."
"Oh, I'm in charge. I'm not proud of it, but I'm good at being a decoy."
Nodding at the reliable answer, Rem and Flop split up.
The three "enemies" who are planning to break through the large door are separated on both sides.
"----"
Squeezing, Rem checks the feel of the steel sword she brought to break the lock.
She has no experience wielding a sword, nor is she aware that she is good at hurting anyone. If she had to say so, she would say that breaking Subaru's finger was Rem's experience in engagement, but it is far from a basis for confidence.
But it is not a matter of confidence. It has to be done.
It is a critical moment.
"Hey there, fellows, how are you doing? I'm a peddler with nothing to sell. I'm just trying to sell you guys some face!"
Suddenly, Flop slips out from behind a building and calls out to the "enemies" as such.
Flop's attitude was too competitive, even though he had to get his opponent's attention on the spot without any significant meetings.
"......What are you..."
The "enemy" who turned around, distracted by the appearance of Flop, called out as such.
The tone of his voice was cold and without heat, but there was a certain intelligence in it, which was quite a surprise to Rem, who had thought that the other party was a non-verbal, non-negotiable entity.
However--,
"I wonder if you can talk to me? If so, I may have some attitude to change."
"Oh, then you are wrong. All the people of the empire will die."
"I see. --I guess there is no room for negotiation!"
As if to cover the bleak "enemy's" reply, Flop said this out loud. It was a clear signal to melt and move Rem's momentarily lost mind.
Once he heard that much, Rem had no hesitation about what to do after that.
"Ah, ahhhhh--!!"
The moment she decided to take the initiative and move, her voice came out, even though she knew she should keep quiet. If she did not inspire herself from the inside in this way, she could not continue to do what she did afterwards.
She swung the sword out of its scabbard and struck the enemy with all her might. She screamed, "Wha-?!", but she swung the sword two or three times, but she was so selfless that she did not even think about it.
Without giving the "enemy", who had turned their attention to Flop, a chance to turn around, she attacked in a series of furious attacks. She swung too often because she didn't know what or how long it would take to make an opponent unable to engage in combat.
She remembers a hard feeling bouncing off her hand, but everything else is pretty blurry.
It's just--,
"Ma'am! You're all right now! We've got 'em all!"
"Oh......"
Called to her feet, Rem comes back to herself and sees Flop in front of her.
When she looked for the "enemy" that should have been between her and him, she found the "enemy" - the one that had been vanquished - scattered in pieces under Rem's feet.
The way they fell, which was completely different from what he had expected, made Rem roll her eyes, saying, "Huh?"
"To my eyes, it looked like they were broken. In fact, when I look at the wreckage that's left behind, it's cracked like china or glass."
"......They're dead, right?"
"At the very least, I doubt he was alive before he was shattered like this."
Flop answers, crouching down and fingering the scattered pieces of the "enemy".
Hearing his answer, Rem felt terribly bitter, realizing what kind of answer she had been expecting.
Taking the life of a living creature is an abhorrent thing that Rem wants to avoid as much as possible.
So she realized that she had such shallow expectations that she wanted to protect her mind by defining what the "enemy" she had vanquished was, living or otherwise.
"Ma'am, soon their people will notice us too. Let's hurry up and open the door."
Flop made the decision to postpone the sentiments held by Rem at this moment. Rem also did not go against Flop's policy, saying that it was the right thing to do.
At least, she realizes when she tries to open the door of separation to justify her actions.
"Huh?"
The shards of the crushed 'enemy' under their feet wriggle unnaturally in a way that is different from wind and earthquakes.
"--It's not easy to die. Because they're dead."
Just as Rem felt a strange sensation, she heard the voice of the "enemy" slip into the room.
She turns around and see the revival of the "enemy" that Rem and Flop were supposed to have vanquished. The shattered pieces of pottery are connected together as if time is going backwards, showing cracks like seams, but they are back together.
"----"
Stiffened by the improbable sight, Rem and Flop were unable to move.
Hoping to at least protect Flop, Rem quickly put her foot down to do the exact opposite of what she had done when she was protected by him in Guaral.
However, the disturbance in her mind affected her knee step, and her imperfect leg did not let him do so.
Rather, it produces a fatal posture breakdown in front of the "enemy".
She has to raise her sword. Faster than the other guy, though.
It will not raise in time.
"--"
There was a gleam of dull light, and the "enemy" was about to strike Rem and Flop mercilessly with the sword in his hand - just at that moment.
"--El!"
"Minya!!"
Two high-pitched voices overlap, leading to an anomaly that occurred immediately afterwards in front of Rem's eyes.
In front of her, purple crystals hit from behind pierced the chests of three enemies who were swinging their swords. The surprise did not end there.
"Kah"
The next moment, the whole body of the "enemy" turned into the same shikon crystal that pierced its chest, and it shattered again.
If there was a difference, it was that the "enemy", now in purple shards, showed no signs of revival.
And the one who did it, saving Rem and Flop in the nick of time, was--,
"--Thank you for waiting, Rem! Here comes the real star of the show!"
With such a brave declaration, a small shadow jumps down from a large horse that has leapt over the outer wall and entered the compound of the mansion.
Then, the dark-haired, dark-eyed boy, lifting the girl in the dress in his arms, smiled at Rem, closing one eye and showing his teeth.
The flamboyant appearance and declaration often left Rem speechless, and then she said.
"--Who are you?"
The boy who appeared so dashingly was someone who was unrecognizable, at least to Rem's eyes.
△▼△▼△▼△
--The door was slammed with a loud, violent bang, and Katya felt a chill run through her body.
"No, no no, don't come don't come don't come......"
She pushes her wheelchair to the back of the room, holds his habitually hairy head in her hands, and prays desperately.
She sent Rem and Flop away and announced that she would wait alone for a while. As much as possible, even breathing as little as possible, Katya thought she was lurking.
And yet, the "enemy" is aware of their existence and is scaring them to death like this.
"I'm not lucky. I'm still not lucky, ever......"
The fact that the "enemy" came in front of this room was only the result of a chance encounter in an attempt to find survivors. She was the worst of luck, because she was able to quickly find the survivors.
Maybe Rem and the others will not be back in time. Such a convenient thing will never happen to her.
"......Brother."
Clearly, she did not see the other party outside the door.
However, according to Rem and Flop, the third force, which was neither imperial soldiers nor rebels, hanging around outside looked like dead people.
When people mention dead people, the first person that comes to Katya's mind now is her own brother, Jamal Aurelie. The death of his brother, who was not supposed to die even if he was killed, was unexpected.
Even Hollow had to admit that he would like to see her at least one more time.
However, when it came to the unexplainable situation of actually having dead people walking around, all that came to mind was not an obsession with her brother, but self-pity, and it was all very unsightly.
She can't even have that kind of lofty compassion to pray for Rem and Flop's safety and hope they survive in her place. All she has is self-love, self-love for her helpless self.
She is just an imperfect and helpless person who doesn't deserve to be loved by anyone.
"I'm, kind of......"
Hoping, hoping, and wishing to be saved was a mistake in itself. Because of such brazen thinking, Rem and the others must have become collateral damage.
Is this not the result of Katya's bad luck and inability to get Rem and the others involved?
Such thoughts of desperation to no end are interrupted by the creaking of the door, which finally begins to show signs of breaking, and Katya's throat freezes.
She curses her body, which seems incapable of even satisfying a scream in the face of such a hopeless situation.
However--,
"Huh?"
That's when she thought the door would be breached.
On the other side of the door, the "enemy" that was trying to break in here stopped moving. --The "enemy" who was trying to break in on the other side of the door stopped moving - or, more precisely, was forced to stop its destructive act.
The reason is that the "enemy's" entire body was engulfed in red flames and burst into flames.
And then--,
"The micro-spirit that threatened me was one of the last to go."
A different voice, different from that of the "enemy" being burned, reached Katya from behind the door.
Katya looked up at the sound of the swearing voice. Katya then turned the wheels of her wheelchair and attached herself to the door.
She unlocked the door, which she had been afraid to open, with a trembling hand and opened it.
Beyond the door he had opened, a man was standing, kicking the burnt and charred corpse of his "enemy".
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Katya. --Let's get out of here."
He had lost his familiar bandana, and his normally upswept hair was down. Katya's eyes widened at the man she still reached, with thirsty blood on his forehead and cheeks.
Then, as she wheeled toward the man,
"Slow...... slow down, you idiot! I would have killed you if I died!"
And then he dived tearfully into his fiancée, who brutally appeared.
△▼△▼△▼△
--There are various situations moving in the Crystal Palace of the Imperial City, on the star-shaped walls, and in the main camp of the rebels.
The one who knows what is going on and the one who does not know everything that is going on.
The battlefield has become a crucible of chaos where such things are mixed together - no, the Vollachia empire.
The land pulsates, where bloodshed is enforced, where life is respected in its dispersal, and where action is deemed righteous in order to allow ambition to flourish, and those who have been etched in the history of the empire rise one after another.
What should they call it but a nightmare?
"--'The Great Calamity'."
Yes, if they don't call it a nightmare, they have to call it a 'Great Calamity'.
The "stargazers" who pervade the Vollachia empire loudly proclaimed that this was one of the great disasters that would drive the world to destruction, and that such a divine decree had been given.
In itself, it does not matter to the core of what caused the so called 'Great Calamity'.
What is important is that this plague lures the land of the empire to destruction and reaches its end wish.
They will spend every move they can make and every measure they can devise to achieve this.
Vollachia is a land of corpses that has been created by dying and killing, and killing.
If all of that blood shed by Vollachia is the cornerstone of the plan, then the rest.
"All that's left is to carry the plan through to the end. --Deliberation: Required."
Yes, the bearer of the "Great Calamity", the symbol of destruction, quietly and serenely celebrated herself.
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