Arc 8: Vincent Vollachia
Arc 8, Chapter 16 "The Corpse Disaster"
--Bloodless pale skin and golden eyes emerging from black eyes.
An army of corpses suddenly appeared, which literally poured cold water on the Imperial Army and the Rebel Army, both of which were engaged in an offensive and defensive battle over the imperial capital, Lupgana.
The battle between the living for imperial supremacy was changing into a struggle for survival between the living and the dead, and the severity of the battle was increasing.
"Ahhhhhh--!!"
Raising his voice loudly, he swung his two-handed sword and slammed it into the enemy in front of him.
The opponent raised his battered sword to receive the blow, but the blow snapped the fragile sword, and plunged it straight into the enemy's skull.
The cranium shatters, but what follows is not a spectacular scene of blood and brain plasma spewing out, but a scene of shards scattered about as if a ceramic pot had been broken, which is hardly the way a human being dies.
The inhuman things are not only out of the way in their appearance, but even in the way they die.
As one who lives in the empire, he has the opportunity to see some species that seem to have outlandish features in their appearance, but whether it is an opponent with a different number of arms or eyes, the way they die is the same.
It is reasonable to end life as it is.
But these corpses have none of that. Is this why he feels such a strong aversion to them?
Even in an empire where life is said to be cheap compared to other countries, they do not trample on life itself as these corpses do.
"Support the front! Let His Excellency the Emperor and his civilians go!"
""Ohh--!!""
When one of the "Generals" gave the order, the soldiers around him shouted as if they were floating in the heat of the moment.
With the army of corpses and the "Cloud Dragon" out of control, leading to the destruction of the watertight walls of the reservoir in the northern part of the Imperial City, His Imperial Highness the Emperor decided to abandon the Imperial City and withdraw his entire army.
The Imperial Army is united in its efforts to assist in the evacuation of the Emperor and the citizens of the Imperial City. Ironically, with the advent of this third camp, the battle against the rebels has become a mess. Now, without distinguishing between regular soldiers and rebels, friend and foe are divided according to the bracket of the living and the dead, and fierce fighting continues.
The Imperial soldier who had just destroyed one of the corpses was one of those who stayed on. He and the soldiers around him were fighting with all their might to see if they could stop as many corpses as possible and take them with them on their journey to death.
"I have no idea what they are. But......"
"If only it were His Excellency the Emperor!"
"Surely, he will find a way to cut you out!"
No matter what the enemy may be, their faith in Vincent Vollachia, the pinnacle of the empire, is unshakable. That is the main reason why the soldiers can stay on without fear.
Vincent has continued to deliver results. Imperial soldiers base their trust in him on the blood Vincent has caused his enemies to shed and the number of corpses he has accumulated.
Considering the absoluteness of its rule, the purity of its will to fight is different from those who casually attempted rebellion.
As it was, so was the will to fight against the corpses that were shaking the empire.
"--! Everybody finish him off!"
The General's cry again was in response to the onslaught of the larger-than-life corpses.
A bald-headed, hulking corpse swings its arms around, blasting away at the imperial soldiers who stand in its way like pieces of paper. If they let the giant do as it pleases, it will blow a hole in the front line, and the defensive position they had just built may collapse from there.
In order to stop it, the soldiers who followed the General's order jumped on the giant body at once.
"Uh, ohhhh!!"
The soldier who jumped at him first was hit, and the Imperial soldier, dodging flying bodies with crushed heads, stayed low and slashed at the giant's legs.
A slash is delivered, and the other man's stance is disrupted. The golden eyes of the Imperial soldier looking down at him, who had just made a petulant gesture, met his eyes, and the tip of the sword that had been picked up from someone else flashed dully.
Just before he is skewered by the tip of the sword, a figure intervenes before the eyes of the imperial soldier.
"Yahhhhhhh......"
It was the General who was pierced through the chest and screamed with blood bubbles.
The Imperial soldier, sheltered by the General, gasped and immediately leaped from his back, swung his sword with all his might, and crushed the giant corpse's head.
The sword broke halfway through the impact, but the giant body did not fight back, shattering its entire body.
The general fell to the ground from the back and was confronted by a huge corpse.
The general has been stabbed through the chest and is out of action, and the imperial soldiers borrow a replacement for the broken sword from the general hand, praising his bravery.
And then, trying to get his head around the battlefield in search of his next enemy--,
"Fuck you......"
The Imperial soldier muttered, his cheeks contorted as he pulled down the helmet he was wearing with his fingers.
An Imperial soldier, who had just dived through the line of death, saw the next corpse--it had the same equipment and face as the general who had just died protecting him.
The corpse of the general is lying beside him, and he is holding its sword.
And yet, the same general himself stood before him, with a pale face and golden eyes.
"Fuck you."
Even warriors turn into corpses and enemies as soon as they die.
In a waterlogged, deadly place that made one want to curse, the imperial soldiers raised their swords and fought for their lives.
△▼△▼△▼△
--The chained dragon carriage is withdrawing from the imperial city of Lupgana and heading for the fortified city of Garkla.
The historic alliance between the Emilia camp and the leaders of the Vollachia Empire that had been formed in that car was unexpectedly sidetracked.
However, the cause of the spearhead is--,
"We were so worried about you, Natsuki-kun. It would have been sad to see him look at us as if he were a guest we didn't invite."
"He doesn't have that look on his face! I'm happy to see you. Anastasia is happy to see you, and Julius is happy to see you, too."
"I don't have that cool look like a straight face, though. It's because of what you look like."
And the two who looked sullenly at the shrunken Subaru from top to bottom were Julius and Anastasia, who suddenly joined the chained dragon carriage.
Naturally, it was a bolt out of the blue for Subaru to run into them here.
The degree of surprise was comparable to when Priscilla suddenly fell from the sky in the castle city.
Moreover, Subaru is not so insensitive that he cannot guess the reason why these two are in the Vollachia Empire.
"I mean, Emilia and her friends are looking for us, but even Anastasia and her friends are...... going out of their way to find me in Kararagi?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It was a great adventure, crossing three countries in a circle, you know? Crossing the border to Vollachia was no easy task, and it was an extravagant and costly journey."
"Ugh"
"I don't want to sound petty, but I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't forget the price of the bones we broke."
Subaru's being sent to the empire was a force majeure, but it was painful to hear him talk about the worry he had caused. Subaru was almost sold an enormous favor by Anastasia's gaze and words.
But then, at Anastasia's neck, a voice called out to her, "Little Ana,"
"You shouldn't bully Natsuki-kun without a second thought. With the way he looks now, for all intents and purposes, Little Ana is the bad one who bullies children."
"Oh......"
When Subaru raised his eyebrows at the voice, the other wagged her white tail in response.
It is a fox collar that Anastasia, dressed in a kimono, wears on her shoulders. In other words, it is the artificial spirit Echidna that Anastasia is carrying.
Unlike the witch with the same name, Subaru was relieved to hear the presence of Echidna, who was recognized as a friend who had gone through the ordeal of the Pleiades Watchtower together.
Now, of all the friends who got separated at the Pleiades Watchtower, if they can show their faces to Patrush outside later, the only one who has yet to see Subaru's safe face is Meili.
In any case--,
"Anastasia! I see that Julius has arrived safely in Vollachia!"
"I'm glad you and Emilia are safe. I'm not going to talk about the hardships I had to go through on the road because..... I didn't find you before Emilia and the others, so it's not alright."
"No, I'm very happy about that. Thank you."
Emilia also welcomed Anastasia's appearance with relaxed cheeks.
It was a disaster of corpses in the Vollachia Empire, after all, there was a civil war. She should be glad that she didn't accidentally cross paths with Anastasia and the others in the imperial capital.
And then, when the joy of such an unexpected reunion was over--,
"Have we warmed up enough old friendships? You may know, but time is limited for military discussions."
It was Abel, who crossed his arms in a pouty manner, who made such a watering-down gesture.
He had been reading the air with a miraculous tolerance for him, but he had finally reached the limit of his silence. With sarcasm, Abel glanced sideways at Subaru,
"Again, it is your acquaintance. I never thought you would extend your neck to Kararagi."
"It's a little complicated, because Anastasia and the others are on the side of Kararagi...... what about that?"
Subaru's question was based on the presence of Halibel standing beside Anastasia and the others. Subaru wondered what position Anastasia and the others would take in the presence of a werewolf who raised and lowered his smoking pipe in Subaru's gaze, and whose title was the most powerful man in the city of Kararagi.
"I'll take that explanation back. I'll take back the story of how I was taken directly to the flying dragon ship."
Julius answers Subaru's question by wiping the scar under his left eye with his finger.
The new white scar on the handsome man's profile, combined with his unfamiliar washo appearance, accentuated Julius's dignified and fearless appearance, and Subaru felt a strange sensation.
He is not saying that there is no influence of 'infantilization' on that feeling, but it is probably the change on Julius's side that is the cause.
Somehow, he thinks he has more leeway now than Julius did before.
Even before, there was a kind of elegance as the "Most Knightly Knight", but it was not the same as a leeway, rather, it seemed to be the opposite.
He seemed to have shed the armor he had worn for so long, although it was not clear whether this was because of his experience at the Pleiades watchtower or for some other reason.
"--I am glad to hear that you are safe and sound, Emperor Vincent Vollachia. It is a great honor to be granted an audience with you once again."
Julius, stepping forward, takes a bow and says in a fluent manner.
Abel, standing in a position sheltered by the large Goz, raised a shaped eyebrow at Julius's greeting. Subaru, too, was uncomfortable with the Julius saying "once again".
"You said, 'Once again'. But I don't remember having an audience with a swordsman from a city-state, and I don't remember seeing your face. What in the world made you say 'once again'?
"I was once given the opportunity to catch a glimpse of you. But then, I was a knight of the Kingdom, not a swordsman of a city-state."
The Kingdom of--"
Abel's black eyes narrowed thoughtfully in response to Julius, who was unafraid even of the Emperor of Vollachia, but he seemed to have no recollection of the event.
Julius, with such an imposing attitude, could not possibly be telling a lie. If this is the case, then the two actually know each other, but Abel has forgotten this.
In other words, a sign that the surroundings have not yet recovered from the effects of "Gluttony" that obliterated Julius--,
"You're plotting, but your attitude doesn't add up. --Berstetz."
"Ha. I don't remember seeing him either."
"It is rare that Berstetz is not present at an audience. So it's not a matter between you and me, it's a much broader issue."
With just one word, Abel was able to detect the discrepancy in perception between Julius and himself, and the special circumstances involved, just by hearing from Berstetz whether Julius had memories or not.
Subaru could not help but mutter to himself, "Is this guy for real?" at Abel's words and actions.
"Is it normally accepted so readily? This is ridiculous......"
"The emperor is in the midst of a crisis in which the corpse has risen and the emperor is being driven from the imperial capital. In terms of the magnitude of the event, it makes no difference that your body is shrinking. The point is whether or not you realize the possibility."
"I ain't saying that my shrinking is an everyday act, either."
It is not easy to accept the theory that any kind of wonders in this world are acceptable if you can come up with them.
When Subaru wrinkled his brow, Beatrice, who was holding his hand, rubbed the wrinkle between Subaru's brow with her other hand.
"It's better not to think too much, I suppose. And it's much better to be open to listening than to be ignorant, in fact."
"......It does. Also, that feels good, so keep going a little longer."
"Roger, I suppose."
While Subaru has Beatrice continue to massage his eyebrows, Julius, who has been cleared of any doubts that arose in the greeting act, gets down to business again.
It is--,
"First of all, the person who is here is Anastasia Hoshin...... I assume that you have already revealed Emilia's identity and position, but Anastasia is also in the same position as Emilia."
"With Miss Emilia. So, the candidates for the next king of the kingdom are all in a foreign country. That's quite a pleasant and rare situation."
Serena, her face contorted with amusement at the wound on her face, and Julius silently pulled her chin back at her words. At his nod of the head, the gaze of the imperial camp turned to Emilia, and her lips parted at the look.
"Yes, Julius is telling the truth. Anastasia and I are both candidates for the royal election, and we are friends."
"For the time being, talking about being friends is a contract burn after the Royal Election. --As I mentioned, I am a representative of the Hoshin Trading Company of Kararagi, one of the candidates for the royal election in the Kingdom of Lugnica."
"Another person of the kingdom with a big title."
"I'm sorry if my title surprised you, but it's not the only title I have now. That's why we came all the way out here in our flying dragon ship, isn't it?"
A friendly alliance had just been formed with Emilia as the head of the empire. When Abel was about to express his displeasure at the fact that someone from another kingdom was involved in this, Anastasia waited for him.
Emilia puts her finger to her lips with a puzzled look on her face when Anastasia says that she has a title that has not yet been mentioned.
"But Anastasia, you are a representative of the Trading Company, a candidate for the king's election ...... and there's more? Oh, maybe the employer of the mercenary group that Mimi and her friends are in?"
"The 'Iron Fang' is under the custody of the Hoshin Trading Company, so I didn't bother to add the title of representative of the Trading Company to it. That's a different story."
"Different......"
Anastasia tells her she is incorrect, and Emilia mutters in a cute, distressed voice.
And beside Anastasia, who laughed at Emilia's appearance, Julius indicated her with his hand,
"Lady Anastasia has been appointed emissary of the Kararagi Urban Alliance--she is on her way to the empire."
"--The Kararagi Urban Alliance?!"
It was Otto whose voice was turned upside down by Julius's answer.
Otto unintentionally breaks his stillness, and looks disappointed. Subaru, at this Otto, said just the right thing and asked, "What's a city alliance?"
"I've heard that Kararagi is a city-state, a country with many cities attached to it."
"--. You are correct in your understanding. The Kararagi City-State is roughly a nation of ten large cities. Each city has its own mayor, who is the representative of the city, and a council of cities, which is the city alliance."
'Heh...... like the Priestellan Council of Ten?'
"Rather, it is probably a tribute to the Urban Alliance by the Priestellan Council of Ten. As is the case with the Water Plummage Inn, Priestella along the border has had a large influx of Kararagi culture."
"Ah, if you ask me......."
The "Water Plummage Inn", where they stayed at the invitation of Anastasia and her friends, had a spread of the Wahoo style inside and outside of it, which they were told had been introduced by Kararagi.
Going further back, he believes that the Kararagi wahoo style itself may be knowledge brought from Subaru's world, but he will leave that aside for now.
In any case--,
"It's not a peaceful situation when you are not only a candidate for the Kingdom's royal election, but also an emissary to the empire at the behest of the Urban Alliance."
"Yes, it's true. Not as much as in Lugnica, but Vollachia is not on good terms with Kararagi either. I mean, the empire is basically on the warpath with everyone."
"It's probably because of the emperor's sharp edges. Maybe in the future he'll round off the corners a bit."
"Shut up."
When Subaru took advantage of Anastasia's frankness and pleasant manner, Abel, without changing his expression, hurled abuses at Subaru.
Subaru stuck his tongue out at that, but Julius was perturbed by his exchange with Abel.
As it was, he turned his eyes to Subaru in surprise, but it would have been a long story if he explained it, so Subaru just stuck his tongue out at Julius as well and fooled him out of the moment.
"We were in Kararagi and heard about the mess in Vollachia, but we didn't take advantage of it and showed up to talk."
"It's an auspicious thing. But you don't mean it."
"You have to be tough. Wouldn't it be more uncomfortable to be helped for free?"
"--. That makes sense."
At the mischievous look in Anastasia's eyes, Abel's gaze turned momentarily to Emilia.
Emilia, the one in question, looks at him strangely, but from Abel and Anastasia's point of view, Emilia's good intentions are probably much more miscalculated.
As expected, Subaru would not go so far as to say that they should help Abel and his friends without compensation, and Otto would give them a thousand sermons from hell if they said such a thing.
Then a hushed voice asked for a chance to speak, "May I?"
Berstetz, with a threadbare look toward Anastasia and Julius, after receiving Abel's silent affirmation,
"May I ask why a city-state has sent an envoy to the Empire in its current state? Perhaps you think that the problems of the empire have come to your attention and that you are pursuing them?"
"Even in Kararagi, where it is believed that time and money are of equal value, would not come to me in the middle of a busy day to talk about money. Interference in internal affairs will only cause losses if you are not prepared for it."
"You're being evasive. I told you. Time is limited."
"You're impatient, aren't you? All right, all right. --Halibel."
"Hmm? Do you want me to talk about it?"
When the imperial leaders wanted to proceed, Anastasia called Halibel at her side.
Halibel, who was leaning against the wall of the dragon carriage, making a ring with the smoke from his flue, stroked the fur on his chin as the gazes gathered from all around him.
The fur is really bushy, and in Subaru's eyes, it's a nice coat of fur.
"Then let me tell you something...... Actually, something strange has been going on in Kararagi for a while now. I've been urged by the Urban Alliance to solve it."
"Strange?"
"You know what I'm talking about, don't you? --Mr. Hotoke is on the move."
"Ho-to-ke?"
Subaru gasped at Halibel's words, which were easygoing and just a little bit pretentious. However, Emilia and Goz were tilting their heads at the unfamiliar word.
At his reaction, Halibel chuckled and said, "Sorry, sorry,"
"I knew you couldn't understand me because of the Kararagi dialect. Mr. Hotoke just means a corpse in Kararagi. That is......"
"--Were the city-state also affected by the corpses?"
"That's right."
Emilia and the others were once again shocked, as was Subaru, when Halibel nodded her head in a matter-of-fact manner.
If the same thing was happening in Kararagi, it would be a cataclysm that would not be confined to the empire.
"What about that zombie fiasco in Kararagi? What about that zombie fiasco in Kararagi?"
"Zombie?"
"Dead people moving around! It's easier to know them if they have a word for it."
"Haha, I see what you mean. I don't know this word, but it's so familiar."
Halibel responds to Subaru's answer by moving his smoking pipe up and down in his mouth, somewhat in a good mood. Subaru was frustrated by Halibel's response, and he leaned forward to ask, "Halibel-san!"
With each passing moment, if the corpse disaster continues to grow--.
"There's not a moment to lose. This is no time to come to the Empire......"
"Don't worry, I took care of the zombie fiasco in Kararagi. Don't worry about Kararagi."
"Oh......"
"I'm a sweet girl...... Oh, I didn't have any candy."
Without even a gesture of exploring his sleeve, Halibel hushed Subaru with a light tone. Unexpectedly, Subaru's lips twitched as he felt rebuked for his forward posture.
"According to Harribel's investigation, the corpse in question...... seems to have gradually made its way to the empire, following the course of the zombie outbreak. Therefore, the Urban Alliance is here to investigate the strange events that have taken place in the country and to alert your country--"
"We hired Halibel, who knew the situation well, to be our emissary to the Urban Alliance. She helped us get across the border."
That's how Anastasia promptly summed up the story of how she took on the emissary of the Urban Alliance.
She may have been concerned that it not be too serious, but unfortunately, no matter how much she cared, it was a story that couldn't help but be heavy.
Especially the fact that the corpse disaster had occurred earlier in Kararagi--,
"The city-state happened before the empire. If that is the case, it could be said that the corpse disaster was brought to the empire from your country."
"That's one thing, but we have other opinions."
"Well. If you don't want to evade your responsibility, let's hear it."
"Kararagi is where the first Mr. Hotoke...... Zombie attack took place, yes. --But I think the main goal was Vollachia, and Kararagi was a training ground before that."
Anastasia replies to Abel's nasty remark with the same attitude.
Despite her easygoing demeanor, her hypothesis is rather grim. It is too painful to see Kararagi as a training ground and Vollachia as the real thing.
"Why did you think that, Anastasia? You said you didn't mean what you said in Kararagi, and that Vollachia was your real goal."
"The scale of the damage."
Anastasia replies to Emilia, who uttered the exact question that Subaru had. She looked into Emilia's purplish-blue eyes while she looked into her own pale blue eyes,
"The information was mixed, but the first reports of damage to the capital arrived in Garkla. Even if it's not accurate, it's true that the zombies have taken the capital, isn't it?"
"The situation in which the capital Lupgana, the heart of the Vollachia Empire, was taken and the citizens of the capital were evacuated en masse is not an ordinary one. Therefore, there is no doubt that the enemy's intention was to cause this situation in the empire."
"It makes sense."
Abel briefly responded to the inferences made by Anastasia and Julius.
However, the emperor, deep in thought behind his quiet black eyes, prefaced his speech with, "Sometimes," and turned his gaze toward Halibel.
"The damage you spoke of being quelled in the city-state, what actually happened? I have not heard of any city-states being destroyed by corpses, regardless of the situation in the empire?"
"I think so. I stopped them before that happened...... but I think their goal was to mess up Kararagi, and they were just trying to get used to it like Little Ana said."
"What does that mean?"
"The simple truth is that the zombies I encountered were all replaced with people from the city, and they were living their lives as if they were still alive. They didn't want anyone to know they had been replaced."
"Wha......"
Subaru was unintentionally crestfallen by the facts revealed by Halibel.
Subaru was not the only one surprised. The wise men all had thoughtful expressions on their faces, and those on the surprised side, like Subaru, were speechless.
That would be true. What Halibel is saying now is too different from what is supposed to happen.
"Um, you mean to say that those corpses would even pose as the living! It is true that the Lord Lamia spoke as she did before she was born.....! Even so!"
"If you look at it as a living person, it kind of destroys the perception that you're dealing with someone who's going to attack you at random. It's tricky just to have something that goes around with wisdom, but then you treat them too differently as an enemy. It gets too interesting."
"What's so funny, High Countess Dracroy? What's funny is that you're so impudent!"
Goz and Serena argue about the astonishing embodiment of this assumed difference.
But such a reaction from both of them is natural. In fact, Subaru is of the exact same opinion. It is not just a matter of fighting them, but also of using them to lure them back.
Not to mention--,
"Hey, Halibel, you said that everyone in the town was turned into a 'zomby', but...... how many people lived in that town?"
It was a topic that someone had to ask about.
Subaru regrets that he let Emilia dump that on him instead of himself. That regret grew deeper and greater when he heard Halibel's answer.
Because--,
"--About 2,000 people, roughly."
"So much for......"
The scale of the damage is clearly quantified by Halibel's answer.
The scale of damage that one could imagine, it severely clouded Emilia's expression, and it also drove a cold, sharp thorn into Subaru's heart.
But some are not only hurt by that Halibel answer, but also look ahead.
"If the scale of it is disguised as the living, I have to say it's troubling. What triggered the exposure?"
"The reason they found out was the flow of goods in and out of the city. They must have disguised it to some extent, but the numbers of living people and dead people don't match. Since Mr. Hotoke doesn't need food or drinking water, there must be a discrepancy there."
"The boundary between the living and the dead? --I don't think so."
Unlike Subaru, whose emotions stop him in his tracks, Abel and Anastasia do not.
While he feels frustrated by the difference, he also doesn't want to forget that he told Abel that he should not throw away this frustration, that it was necessary.
"Berstetz, you had one army in the western part of the empire."
While Subaru bites his teeth, Abel throws a question to Berstetz.
Berstetz nodded a short "ha" to the emperor's question,
"We had received reports of unrest in the western part of the country, along the border with Kararagi. It was still before the signs of civil war had spread, but we were afraid of polarizing the situation against the insurgents, so we maintained a check on them. --No way."
"It must have been Groovy Gamlet who was entrusted with the army."
The narrow threaded eyes open slightly and Berstetz reveals his astonishment. As if in agreement with the Prime Minister's realization, Abel lets out a small exhale.
The exhale mentioned one of the "Nine Divine Generals", as he recalls--a person who should have been one of the generals Subaru had never had a chance to see face to face.
The reason why Abel's eyes narrowed gloomily when he mentioned the man's name--,
"Your Excellency! It's certainly...... certainly! General Groovy!"
"If we do not participate in the war in the Imperial City because of the unrest on the borders of the city states...... and if there is no movement to join the war here, we have no choice but to assume the worst."
"Worst case scenario, huh? Even I would hardly call it pleasant."
Goz blushes, and Serena too, the thin smile on her lips disappearing.
Abel nodded as the heavyweights responded, and then he told them.
"--Groovy Gamlet and his army have already fallen into the hands of the corpses. If they do not join us in the future, we should include that assumption."
"--"
At Abel's words, Goz's total body shook and he bit his back teeth.
It was not a metaphor; he really chewed through his back teeth. So much resentment pierced the warrior Goz Ralfon's entire being that the possibility of losing a comrade-in-arms hit him hard.
For Subaru and others who did not know the real thing, it was also a quiet pain.
"Sir, if the corpse can pose as the living as its supposed to......"
"The news from the various regions has lost its credibility by itself. It would be extremely difficult to enter the battle for the recapture of the Imperial Capital without improving the reliability of information."
The reports delivered, which of them are of the living on our side and which of them are of the dead on the enemy's side, are not known.
Subaru gasped when presented with such a frightening possibility.
"I mean, that's why the Urban Alliance put Anastasia in charge of the messenger......"
"I hope you share my sense of urgency. We must never spread this kind of thing. That's why I let only a small group of people I trusted take the lead."
Julius and Halibel each nod their heads in agreement to Anastasia's nodding.
They were the two people selected as the reliable individual force to start the war against the corpses.
"What about Ricardo and Mimi and the others?"
"We are building a joint front with the Urban Alliance on the border. Basically, they won't come into the empire. If we can't stop them in the Empire, Kararagi has to be prepared."
"I know it's a bad omen, but give me a break. Well, it's too late now for Little Ana's bad mouth."
Halibel."
Anastasia, who answered the whereabouts of the absent "Iron Fang", looks at Halibel with a smile. With a soft gesture, she puts her hand on her cheek and keeps her eyes fixed on Halibel,
"I missed it the first time, but don't call me Little Ana. I'm not a child anymore, and I represent Kararagi."
"--. You're not a child, but you don't look so different from when you were a child. Your nature hasn't changed from when I used to mess around with Ricardo."
"Halibel."
"Okay, okay, my bad."
With a wave of his hand, Halibel raised the white flag to Anastasia.
The apparently cordial relationship between the two is also a matter of concern, but he must say that it is a trivial matter compared to the serious matter at hand.
Yes, given the circumstances that must be prevented from this unprecedented corpse disaster--.
"Once again, I would like to share with you the thoughts of the Urban Alliance of Kararagi. The city-states...... would like to provide all possible assistance to the empire to stop this zombie damage to the corpses."
"--. I'll work out the details of a response regarding support. Do you have any idea how to stop this from happening?"
"But, well, it can't be a natural phenomenon that Mr. Hotoke wakes up, can it? It's definitely the result of someone's very strong ideas. In other words--"
"--The defeat of the mastermind, the magician, the ringleader, whatever you want to call him."
A major problem that could put the entire world at risk, and how to stop it.
The top priority for the Kingdom of Lugnica, the Vollachia Empire, and the city-state of Kararagi is to stop the unknown "enemy" that has caused this problem.
"--Unknown 'enemy'."
Thinking of a small, unknown "enemy", Subaru mutters, "I don't know what it is."
What in the world did the "enemy" look like, and under what ideology were they prepared to commit such horrific acts of barbarism?
Just thinking about how many hardships and obstacles await us in our quest to defeat this as yet unseen "enemy" sends a cold sweat down my spine.
However--,
"--That's how many members we've got here."
Subaru's almost frightened mind is still inspired by the faces around him.
Emilia and her friends who came to the empire in search of Subaru and his friends, the leaders of the empire who were ready to work together to protect the empire, and the reliable reinforcements from Kararagi.
"No matter what the enemy is up to, we can never lose!!"
This was Natsuki Subaru's false declaration of war against the "enemy".
△▼△▼△▼△
--Yes, Subaru was enthusiastic in the chained dragon carriage, and the time was right around the corner.
Furiously, water from the reservoir poured out of the destroyed watertight walls, and the imperial city was engulfed by water.
The blue-haired boy, who had escaped to higher ground, watched as the muddy waters swept away buildings and tore apart people and trees without distinction, creating a shelter with his hands.
"I tried to buy as much time as I could, but I wonder if everyone was able to escape. I hope the bosses didn't make the wrong decision in retreating because their blood was unexpectedly up in their heads."
Cecilus, dressed in a kimono and zori, muttered wittily.
In this epic battle for the Imperial Capital, the world's top actors came to the scene with their intuition and storytelling brains to identify the most difficult thing that was involved in changing the situation in every sense of the word.
In fact, without Cecilus's arbitrary and arbitrary action, the Imperial City would have been engulfed by water much sooner, and more people would have failed to escape, resulting in tremendous damage.
In that sense, Cecilus's actions were unexpected for everyone and at the same time called for a fortunate outcome for many of them.
But this was not the case for Cecilus, the party involved.
Cecilus leapt to surprise the third "enemy" who was trying to snatch victory with his tactless spear in the battle for the Imperial Capital, where the army of the dead had suddenly appeared, and the situation had changed.
It was truly a success that was designed to attract the world, and he can be proud of it.
And yet--,
"And yet it was completely unexpected."
Cecilus scratches his cheek at the sight of the corpses who, like him, have fled to higher ground in the muddy waters of the Imperial City, but who have not lost their attachment to the living.
There is no doubt that these are out-of-the-ordinary beings, brought back to life by a technique unknown to Cecilus.
In fact, he came across an entity that made them into such a thing.
Even though things had gone as Cecilus's intuition had led him to that point, he was still able to get the job done,
"--I didn't think that defeating the surgeon would stop things!"
At the feet of Cecilus, who raised his voice in this manner, the surgeon who revived and led the corpses is lying on the ground.
A young girl with beautiful peach-colored hair and long ears, who looked to be about the same age as Cecilus--it was the "Witch" who had confronted Cecilus, the "Blue Lightning", and had already lost her battle.
Arc 8, Chapter 16 "The Corpse Disaster"
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--Bloodless pale skin and golden eyes emerging from black eyes.
An army of corpses suddenly appeared, which literally poured cold water on the Imperial Army and the Rebel Army, both of which were engaged in an offensive and defensive battle over the imperial capital, Lupgana.
The battle between the living for imperial supremacy was changing into a struggle for survival between the living and the dead, and the severity of the battle was increasing.
"Ahhhhhh--!!"
Raising his voice loudly, he swung his two-handed sword and slammed it into the enemy in front of him.
The opponent raised his battered sword to receive the blow, but the blow snapped the fragile sword, and plunged it straight into the enemy's skull.
The cranium shatters, but what follows is not a spectacular scene of blood and brain plasma spewing out, but a scene of shards scattered about as if a ceramic pot had been broken, which is hardly the way a human being dies.
The inhuman things are not only out of the way in their appearance, but even in the way they die.
As one who lives in the empire, he has the opportunity to see some species that seem to have outlandish features in their appearance, but whether it is an opponent with a different number of arms or eyes, the way they die is the same.
It is reasonable to end life as it is.
But these corpses have none of that. Is this why he feels such a strong aversion to them?
Even in an empire where life is said to be cheap compared to other countries, they do not trample on life itself as these corpses do.
"Support the front! Let His Excellency the Emperor and his civilians go!"
""Ohh--!!""
When one of the "Generals" gave the order, the soldiers around him shouted as if they were floating in the heat of the moment.
With the army of corpses and the "Cloud Dragon" out of control, leading to the destruction of the watertight walls of the reservoir in the northern part of the Imperial City, His Imperial Highness the Emperor decided to abandon the Imperial City and withdraw his entire army.
The Imperial Army is united in its efforts to assist in the evacuation of the Emperor and the citizens of the Imperial City. Ironically, with the advent of this third camp, the battle against the rebels has become a mess. Now, without distinguishing between regular soldiers and rebels, friend and foe are divided according to the bracket of the living and the dead, and fierce fighting continues.
The Imperial soldier who had just destroyed one of the corpses was one of those who stayed on. He and the soldiers around him were fighting with all their might to see if they could stop as many corpses as possible and take them with them on their journey to death.
"I have no idea what they are. But......"
"If only it were His Excellency the Emperor!"
"Surely, he will find a way to cut you out!"
No matter what the enemy may be, their faith in Vincent Vollachia, the pinnacle of the empire, is unshakable. That is the main reason why the soldiers can stay on without fear.
Vincent has continued to deliver results. Imperial soldiers base their trust in him on the blood Vincent has caused his enemies to shed and the number of corpses he has accumulated.
Considering the absoluteness of its rule, the purity of its will to fight is different from those who casually attempted rebellion.
As it was, so was the will to fight against the corpses that were shaking the empire.
"--! Everybody finish him off!"
The General's cry again was in response to the onslaught of the larger-than-life corpses.
A bald-headed, hulking corpse swings its arms around, blasting away at the imperial soldiers who stand in its way like pieces of paper. If they let the giant do as it pleases, it will blow a hole in the front line, and the defensive position they had just built may collapse from there.
In order to stop it, the soldiers who followed the General's order jumped on the giant body at once.
"Uh, ohhhh!!"
The soldier who jumped at him first was hit, and the Imperial soldier, dodging flying bodies with crushed heads, stayed low and slashed at the giant's legs.
A slash is delivered, and the other man's stance is disrupted. The golden eyes of the Imperial soldier looking down at him, who had just made a petulant gesture, met his eyes, and the tip of the sword that had been picked up from someone else flashed dully.
Just before he is skewered by the tip of the sword, a figure intervenes before the eyes of the imperial soldier.
"Yahhhhhhh......"
It was the General who was pierced through the chest and screamed with blood bubbles.
The Imperial soldier, sheltered by the General, gasped and immediately leaped from his back, swung his sword with all his might, and crushed the giant corpse's head.
The sword broke halfway through the impact, but the giant body did not fight back, shattering its entire body.
The general fell to the ground from the back and was confronted by a huge corpse.
The general has been stabbed through the chest and is out of action, and the imperial soldiers borrow a replacement for the broken sword from the general hand, praising his bravery.
And then, trying to get his head around the battlefield in search of his next enemy--,
"Fuck you......"
The Imperial soldier muttered, his cheeks contorted as he pulled down the helmet he was wearing with his fingers.
An Imperial soldier, who had just dived through the line of death, saw the next corpse--it had the same equipment and face as the general who had just died protecting him.
The corpse of the general is lying beside him, and he is holding its sword.
And yet, the same general himself stood before him, with a pale face and golden eyes.
"Fuck you."
Even warriors turn into corpses and enemies as soon as they die.
In a waterlogged, deadly place that made one want to curse, the imperial soldiers raised their swords and fought for their lives.
△▼△▼△▼△
--The chained dragon carriage is withdrawing from the imperial city of Lupgana and heading for the fortified city of Garkla.
The historic alliance between the Emilia camp and the leaders of the Vollachia Empire that had been formed in that car was unexpectedly sidetracked.
However, the cause of the spearhead is--,
"We were so worried about you, Natsuki-kun. It would have been sad to see him look at us as if he were a guest we didn't invite."
"He doesn't have that look on his face! I'm happy to see you. Anastasia is happy to see you, and Julius is happy to see you, too."
"I don't have that cool look like a straight face, though. It's because of what you look like."
And the two who looked sullenly at the shrunken Subaru from top to bottom were Julius and Anastasia, who suddenly joined the chained dragon carriage.
Naturally, it was a bolt out of the blue for Subaru to run into them here.
The degree of surprise was comparable to when Priscilla suddenly fell from the sky in the castle city.
Moreover, Subaru is not so insensitive that he cannot guess the reason why these two are in the Vollachia Empire.
"I mean, Emilia and her friends are looking for us, but even Anastasia and her friends are...... going out of their way to find me in Kararagi?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It was a great adventure, crossing three countries in a circle, you know? Crossing the border to Vollachia was no easy task, and it was an extravagant and costly journey."
"Ugh"
"I don't want to sound petty, but I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't forget the price of the bones we broke."
Subaru's being sent to the empire was a force majeure, but it was painful to hear him talk about the worry he had caused. Subaru was almost sold an enormous favor by Anastasia's gaze and words.
But then, at Anastasia's neck, a voice called out to her, "Little Ana,"
"You shouldn't bully Natsuki-kun without a second thought. With the way he looks now, for all intents and purposes, Little Ana is the bad one who bullies children."
"Oh......"
When Subaru raised his eyebrows at the voice, the other wagged her white tail in response.
It is a fox collar that Anastasia, dressed in a kimono, wears on her shoulders. In other words, it is the artificial spirit Echidna that Anastasia is carrying.
Unlike the witch with the same name, Subaru was relieved to hear the presence of Echidna, who was recognized as a friend who had gone through the ordeal of the Pleiades Watchtower together.
Now, of all the friends who got separated at the Pleiades Watchtower, if they can show their faces to Patrush outside later, the only one who has yet to see Subaru's safe face is Meili.
In any case--,
"Anastasia! I see that Julius has arrived safely in Vollachia!"
"I'm glad you and Emilia are safe. I'm not going to talk about the hardships I had to go through on the road because..... I didn't find you before Emilia and the others, so it's not alright."
"No, I'm very happy about that. Thank you."
Emilia also welcomed Anastasia's appearance with relaxed cheeks.
It was a disaster of corpses in the Vollachia Empire, after all, there was a civil war. She should be glad that she didn't accidentally cross paths with Anastasia and the others in the imperial capital.
And then, when the joy of such an unexpected reunion was over--,
"Have we warmed up enough old friendships? You may know, but time is limited for military discussions."
It was Abel, who crossed his arms in a pouty manner, who made such a watering-down gesture.
He had been reading the air with a miraculous tolerance for him, but he had finally reached the limit of his silence. With sarcasm, Abel glanced sideways at Subaru,
"Again, it is your acquaintance. I never thought you would extend your neck to Kararagi."
"It's a little complicated, because Anastasia and the others are on the side of Kararagi...... what about that?"
Subaru's question was based on the presence of Halibel standing beside Anastasia and the others. Subaru wondered what position Anastasia and the others would take in the presence of a werewolf who raised and lowered his smoking pipe in Subaru's gaze, and whose title was the most powerful man in the city of Kararagi.
"I'll take that explanation back. I'll take back the story of how I was taken directly to the flying dragon ship."
Julius answers Subaru's question by wiping the scar under his left eye with his finger.
The new white scar on the handsome man's profile, combined with his unfamiliar washo appearance, accentuated Julius's dignified and fearless appearance, and Subaru felt a strange sensation.
He is not saying that there is no influence of 'infantilization' on that feeling, but it is probably the change on Julius's side that is the cause.
Somehow, he thinks he has more leeway now than Julius did before.
Even before, there was a kind of elegance as the "Most Knightly Knight", but it was not the same as a leeway, rather, it seemed to be the opposite.
He seemed to have shed the armor he had worn for so long, although it was not clear whether this was because of his experience at the Pleiades watchtower or for some other reason.
"--I am glad to hear that you are safe and sound, Emperor Vincent Vollachia. It is a great honor to be granted an audience with you once again."
Julius, stepping forward, takes a bow and says in a fluent manner.
Abel, standing in a position sheltered by the large Goz, raised a shaped eyebrow at Julius's greeting. Subaru, too, was uncomfortable with the Julius saying "once again".
"You said, 'Once again'. But I don't remember having an audience with a swordsman from a city-state, and I don't remember seeing your face. What in the world made you say 'once again'?
"I was once given the opportunity to catch a glimpse of you. But then, I was a knight of the Kingdom, not a swordsman of a city-state."
The Kingdom of--"
Abel's black eyes narrowed thoughtfully in response to Julius, who was unafraid even of the Emperor of Vollachia, but he seemed to have no recollection of the event.
Julius, with such an imposing attitude, could not possibly be telling a lie. If this is the case, then the two actually know each other, but Abel has forgotten this.
In other words, a sign that the surroundings have not yet recovered from the effects of "Gluttony" that obliterated Julius--,
"You're plotting, but your attitude doesn't add up. --Berstetz."
"Ha. I don't remember seeing him either."
"It is rare that Berstetz is not present at an audience. So it's not a matter between you and me, it's a much broader issue."
With just one word, Abel was able to detect the discrepancy in perception between Julius and himself, and the special circumstances involved, just by hearing from Berstetz whether Julius had memories or not.
Subaru could not help but mutter to himself, "Is this guy for real?" at Abel's words and actions.
"Is it normally accepted so readily? This is ridiculous......"
"The emperor is in the midst of a crisis in which the corpse has risen and the emperor is being driven from the imperial capital. In terms of the magnitude of the event, it makes no difference that your body is shrinking. The point is whether or not you realize the possibility."
"I ain't saying that my shrinking is an everyday act, either."
It is not easy to accept the theory that any kind of wonders in this world are acceptable if you can come up with them.
When Subaru wrinkled his brow, Beatrice, who was holding his hand, rubbed the wrinkle between Subaru's brow with her other hand.
"It's better not to think too much, I suppose. And it's much better to be open to listening than to be ignorant, in fact."
"......It does. Also, that feels good, so keep going a little longer."
"Roger, I suppose."
While Subaru has Beatrice continue to massage his eyebrows, Julius, who has been cleared of any doubts that arose in the greeting act, gets down to business again.
It is--,
"First of all, the person who is here is Anastasia Hoshin...... I assume that you have already revealed Emilia's identity and position, but Anastasia is also in the same position as Emilia."
"With Miss Emilia. So, the candidates for the next king of the kingdom are all in a foreign country. That's quite a pleasant and rare situation."
Serena, her face contorted with amusement at the wound on her face, and Julius silently pulled her chin back at her words. At his nod of the head, the gaze of the imperial camp turned to Emilia, and her lips parted at the look.
"Yes, Julius is telling the truth. Anastasia and I are both candidates for the royal election, and we are friends."
"For the time being, talking about being friends is a contract burn after the Royal Election. --As I mentioned, I am a representative of the Hoshin Trading Company of Kararagi, one of the candidates for the royal election in the Kingdom of Lugnica."
"Another person of the kingdom with a big title."
"I'm sorry if my title surprised you, but it's not the only title I have now. That's why we came all the way out here in our flying dragon ship, isn't it?"
A friendly alliance had just been formed with Emilia as the head of the empire. When Abel was about to express his displeasure at the fact that someone from another kingdom was involved in this, Anastasia waited for him.
Emilia puts her finger to her lips with a puzzled look on her face when Anastasia says that she has a title that has not yet been mentioned.
"But Anastasia, you are a representative of the Trading Company, a candidate for the king's election ...... and there's more? Oh, maybe the employer of the mercenary group that Mimi and her friends are in?"
"The 'Iron Fang' is under the custody of the Hoshin Trading Company, so I didn't bother to add the title of representative of the Trading Company to it. That's a different story."
"Different......"
Anastasia tells her she is incorrect, and Emilia mutters in a cute, distressed voice.
And beside Anastasia, who laughed at Emilia's appearance, Julius indicated her with his hand,
"Lady Anastasia has been appointed emissary of the Kararagi Urban Alliance--she is on her way to the empire."
"--The Kararagi Urban Alliance?!"
It was Otto whose voice was turned upside down by Julius's answer.
Otto unintentionally breaks his stillness, and looks disappointed. Subaru, at this Otto, said just the right thing and asked, "What's a city alliance?"
"I've heard that Kararagi is a city-state, a country with many cities attached to it."
"--. You are correct in your understanding. The Kararagi City-State is roughly a nation of ten large cities. Each city has its own mayor, who is the representative of the city, and a council of cities, which is the city alliance."
'Heh...... like the Priestellan Council of Ten?'
"Rather, it is probably a tribute to the Urban Alliance by the Priestellan Council of Ten. As is the case with the Water Plummage Inn, Priestella along the border has had a large influx of Kararagi culture."
"Ah, if you ask me......."
The "Water Plummage Inn", where they stayed at the invitation of Anastasia and her friends, had a spread of the Wahoo style inside and outside of it, which they were told had been introduced by Kararagi.
Going further back, he believes that the Kararagi wahoo style itself may be knowledge brought from Subaru's world, but he will leave that aside for now.
In any case--,
"It's not a peaceful situation when you are not only a candidate for the Kingdom's royal election, but also an emissary to the empire at the behest of the Urban Alliance."
"Yes, it's true. Not as much as in Lugnica, but Vollachia is not on good terms with Kararagi either. I mean, the empire is basically on the warpath with everyone."
"It's probably because of the emperor's sharp edges. Maybe in the future he'll round off the corners a bit."
"Shut up."
When Subaru took advantage of Anastasia's frankness and pleasant manner, Abel, without changing his expression, hurled abuses at Subaru.
Subaru stuck his tongue out at that, but Julius was perturbed by his exchange with Abel.
As it was, he turned his eyes to Subaru in surprise, but it would have been a long story if he explained it, so Subaru just stuck his tongue out at Julius as well and fooled him out of the moment.
"We were in Kararagi and heard about the mess in Vollachia, but we didn't take advantage of it and showed up to talk."
"It's an auspicious thing. But you don't mean it."
"You have to be tough. Wouldn't it be more uncomfortable to be helped for free?"
"--. That makes sense."
At the mischievous look in Anastasia's eyes, Abel's gaze turned momentarily to Emilia.
Emilia, the one in question, looks at him strangely, but from Abel and Anastasia's point of view, Emilia's good intentions are probably much more miscalculated.
As expected, Subaru would not go so far as to say that they should help Abel and his friends without compensation, and Otto would give them a thousand sermons from hell if they said such a thing.
Then a hushed voice asked for a chance to speak, "May I?"
Berstetz, with a threadbare look toward Anastasia and Julius, after receiving Abel's silent affirmation,
"May I ask why a city-state has sent an envoy to the Empire in its current state? Perhaps you think that the problems of the empire have come to your attention and that you are pursuing them?"
"Even in Kararagi, where it is believed that time and money are of equal value, would not come to me in the middle of a busy day to talk about money. Interference in internal affairs will only cause losses if you are not prepared for it."
"You're being evasive. I told you. Time is limited."
"You're impatient, aren't you? All right, all right. --Halibel."
"Hmm? Do you want me to talk about it?"
When the imperial leaders wanted to proceed, Anastasia called Halibel at her side.
Halibel, who was leaning against the wall of the dragon carriage, making a ring with the smoke from his flue, stroked the fur on his chin as the gazes gathered from all around him.
The fur is really bushy, and in Subaru's eyes, it's a nice coat of fur.
"Then let me tell you something...... Actually, something strange has been going on in Kararagi for a while now. I've been urged by the Urban Alliance to solve it."
"Strange?"
"You know what I'm talking about, don't you? --Mr. Hotoke is on the move."
"Ho-to-ke?"
Subaru gasped at Halibel's words, which were easygoing and just a little bit pretentious. However, Emilia and Goz were tilting their heads at the unfamiliar word.
At his reaction, Halibel chuckled and said, "Sorry, sorry,"
"I knew you couldn't understand me because of the Kararagi dialect. Mr. Hotoke just means a corpse in Kararagi. That is......"
"--Were the city-state also affected by the corpses?"
"That's right."
Emilia and the others were once again shocked, as was Subaru, when Halibel nodded her head in a matter-of-fact manner.
If the same thing was happening in Kararagi, it would be a cataclysm that would not be confined to the empire.
"What about that zombie fiasco in Kararagi? What about that zombie fiasco in Kararagi?"
"Zombie?"
"Dead people moving around! It's easier to know them if they have a word for it."
"Haha, I see what you mean. I don't know this word, but it's so familiar."
Halibel responds to Subaru's answer by moving his smoking pipe up and down in his mouth, somewhat in a good mood. Subaru was frustrated by Halibel's response, and he leaned forward to ask, "Halibel-san!"
With each passing moment, if the corpse disaster continues to grow--.
"There's not a moment to lose. This is no time to come to the Empire......"
"Don't worry, I took care of the zombie fiasco in Kararagi. Don't worry about Kararagi."
"Oh......"
"I'm a sweet girl...... Oh, I didn't have any candy."
Without even a gesture of exploring his sleeve, Halibel hushed Subaru with a light tone. Unexpectedly, Subaru's lips twitched as he felt rebuked for his forward posture.
"According to Harribel's investigation, the corpse in question...... seems to have gradually made its way to the empire, following the course of the zombie outbreak. Therefore, the Urban Alliance is here to investigate the strange events that have taken place in the country and to alert your country--"
"We hired Halibel, who knew the situation well, to be our emissary to the Urban Alliance. She helped us get across the border."
That's how Anastasia promptly summed up the story of how she took on the emissary of the Urban Alliance.
She may have been concerned that it not be too serious, but unfortunately, no matter how much she cared, it was a story that couldn't help but be heavy.
Especially the fact that the corpse disaster had occurred earlier in Kararagi--,
"The city-state happened before the empire. If that is the case, it could be said that the corpse disaster was brought to the empire from your country."
"That's one thing, but we have other opinions."
"Well. If you don't want to evade your responsibility, let's hear it."
"Kararagi is where the first Mr. Hotoke...... Zombie attack took place, yes. --But I think the main goal was Vollachia, and Kararagi was a training ground before that."
Anastasia replies to Abel's nasty remark with the same attitude.
Despite her easygoing demeanor, her hypothesis is rather grim. It is too painful to see Kararagi as a training ground and Vollachia as the real thing.
"Why did you think that, Anastasia? You said you didn't mean what you said in Kararagi, and that Vollachia was your real goal."
"The scale of the damage."
Anastasia replies to Emilia, who uttered the exact question that Subaru had. She looked into Emilia's purplish-blue eyes while she looked into her own pale blue eyes,
"The information was mixed, but the first reports of damage to the capital arrived in Garkla. Even if it's not accurate, it's true that the zombies have taken the capital, isn't it?"
"The situation in which the capital Lupgana, the heart of the Vollachia Empire, was taken and the citizens of the capital were evacuated en masse is not an ordinary one. Therefore, there is no doubt that the enemy's intention was to cause this situation in the empire."
"It makes sense."
Abel briefly responded to the inferences made by Anastasia and Julius.
However, the emperor, deep in thought behind his quiet black eyes, prefaced his speech with, "Sometimes," and turned his gaze toward Halibel.
"The damage you spoke of being quelled in the city-state, what actually happened? I have not heard of any city-states being destroyed by corpses, regardless of the situation in the empire?"
"I think so. I stopped them before that happened...... but I think their goal was to mess up Kararagi, and they were just trying to get used to it like Little Ana said."
"What does that mean?"
"The simple truth is that the zombies I encountered were all replaced with people from the city, and they were living their lives as if they were still alive. They didn't want anyone to know they had been replaced."
"Wha......"
Subaru was unintentionally crestfallen by the facts revealed by Halibel.
Subaru was not the only one surprised. The wise men all had thoughtful expressions on their faces, and those on the surprised side, like Subaru, were speechless.
That would be true. What Halibel is saying now is too different from what is supposed to happen.
"Um, you mean to say that those corpses would even pose as the living! It is true that the Lord Lamia spoke as she did before she was born.....! Even so!"
"If you look at it as a living person, it kind of destroys the perception that you're dealing with someone who's going to attack you at random. It's tricky just to have something that goes around with wisdom, but then you treat them too differently as an enemy. It gets too interesting."
"What's so funny, High Countess Dracroy? What's funny is that you're so impudent!"
Goz and Serena argue about the astonishing embodiment of this assumed difference.
But such a reaction from both of them is natural. In fact, Subaru is of the exact same opinion. It is not just a matter of fighting them, but also of using them to lure them back.
Not to mention--,
"Hey, Halibel, you said that everyone in the town was turned into a 'zomby', but...... how many people lived in that town?"
It was a topic that someone had to ask about.
Subaru regrets that he let Emilia dump that on him instead of himself. That regret grew deeper and greater when he heard Halibel's answer.
Because--,
"--About 2,000 people, roughly."
"So much for......"
The scale of the damage is clearly quantified by Halibel's answer.
The scale of damage that one could imagine, it severely clouded Emilia's expression, and it also drove a cold, sharp thorn into Subaru's heart.
But some are not only hurt by that Halibel answer, but also look ahead.
"If the scale of it is disguised as the living, I have to say it's troubling. What triggered the exposure?"
"The reason they found out was the flow of goods in and out of the city. They must have disguised it to some extent, but the numbers of living people and dead people don't match. Since Mr. Hotoke doesn't need food or drinking water, there must be a discrepancy there."
"The boundary between the living and the dead? --I don't think so."
Unlike Subaru, whose emotions stop him in his tracks, Abel and Anastasia do not.
While he feels frustrated by the difference, he also doesn't want to forget that he told Abel that he should not throw away this frustration, that it was necessary.
"Berstetz, you had one army in the western part of the empire."
While Subaru bites his teeth, Abel throws a question to Berstetz.
Berstetz nodded a short "ha" to the emperor's question,
"We had received reports of unrest in the western part of the country, along the border with Kararagi. It was still before the signs of civil war had spread, but we were afraid of polarizing the situation against the insurgents, so we maintained a check on them. --No way."
"It must have been Groovy Gamlet who was entrusted with the army."
The narrow threaded eyes open slightly and Berstetz reveals his astonishment. As if in agreement with the Prime Minister's realization, Abel lets out a small exhale.
The exhale mentioned one of the "Nine Divine Generals", as he recalls--a person who should have been one of the generals Subaru had never had a chance to see face to face.
The reason why Abel's eyes narrowed gloomily when he mentioned the man's name--,
"Your Excellency! It's certainly...... certainly! General Groovy!"
"If we do not participate in the war in the Imperial City because of the unrest on the borders of the city states...... and if there is no movement to join the war here, we have no choice but to assume the worst."
"Worst case scenario, huh? Even I would hardly call it pleasant."
Goz blushes, and Serena too, the thin smile on her lips disappearing.
Abel nodded as the heavyweights responded, and then he told them.
"--Groovy Gamlet and his army have already fallen into the hands of the corpses. If they do not join us in the future, we should include that assumption."
"--"
At Abel's words, Goz's total body shook and he bit his back teeth.
It was not a metaphor; he really chewed through his back teeth. So much resentment pierced the warrior Goz Ralfon's entire being that the possibility of losing a comrade-in-arms hit him hard.
For Subaru and others who did not know the real thing, it was also a quiet pain.
"Sir, if the corpse can pose as the living as its supposed to......"
"The news from the various regions has lost its credibility by itself. It would be extremely difficult to enter the battle for the recapture of the Imperial Capital without improving the reliability of information."
The reports delivered, which of them are of the living on our side and which of them are of the dead on the enemy's side, are not known.
Subaru gasped when presented with such a frightening possibility.
"I mean, that's why the Urban Alliance put Anastasia in charge of the messenger......"
"I hope you share my sense of urgency. We must never spread this kind of thing. That's why I let only a small group of people I trusted take the lead."
Julius and Halibel each nod their heads in agreement to Anastasia's nodding.
They were the two people selected as the reliable individual force to start the war against the corpses.
"What about Ricardo and Mimi and the others?"
"We are building a joint front with the Urban Alliance on the border. Basically, they won't come into the empire. If we can't stop them in the Empire, Kararagi has to be prepared."
"I know it's a bad omen, but give me a break. Well, it's too late now for Little Ana's bad mouth."
Halibel."
Anastasia, who answered the whereabouts of the absent "Iron Fang", looks at Halibel with a smile. With a soft gesture, she puts her hand on her cheek and keeps her eyes fixed on Halibel,
"I missed it the first time, but don't call me Little Ana. I'm not a child anymore, and I represent Kararagi."
"--. You're not a child, but you don't look so different from when you were a child. Your nature hasn't changed from when I used to mess around with Ricardo."
"Halibel."
"Okay, okay, my bad."
With a wave of his hand, Halibel raised the white flag to Anastasia.
The apparently cordial relationship between the two is also a matter of concern, but he must say that it is a trivial matter compared to the serious matter at hand.
Yes, given the circumstances that must be prevented from this unprecedented corpse disaster--.
"Once again, I would like to share with you the thoughts of the Urban Alliance of Kararagi. The city-states...... would like to provide all possible assistance to the empire to stop this zombie damage to the corpses."
"--. I'll work out the details of a response regarding support. Do you have any idea how to stop this from happening?"
"But, well, it can't be a natural phenomenon that Mr. Hotoke wakes up, can it? It's definitely the result of someone's very strong ideas. In other words--"
"--The defeat of the mastermind, the magician, the ringleader, whatever you want to call him."
A major problem that could put the entire world at risk, and how to stop it.
The top priority for the Kingdom of Lugnica, the Vollachia Empire, and the city-state of Kararagi is to stop the unknown "enemy" that has caused this problem.
"--Unknown 'enemy'."
Thinking of a small, unknown "enemy", Subaru mutters, "I don't know what it is."
What in the world did the "enemy" look like, and under what ideology were they prepared to commit such horrific acts of barbarism?
Just thinking about how many hardships and obstacles await us in our quest to defeat this as yet unseen "enemy" sends a cold sweat down my spine.
However--,
"--That's how many members we've got here."
Subaru's almost frightened mind is still inspired by the faces around him.
Emilia and her friends who came to the empire in search of Subaru and his friends, the leaders of the empire who were ready to work together to protect the empire, and the reliable reinforcements from Kararagi.
"No matter what the enemy is up to, we can never lose!!"
This was Natsuki Subaru's false declaration of war against the "enemy".
△▼△▼△▼△
--Yes, Subaru was enthusiastic in the chained dragon carriage, and the time was right around the corner.
Furiously, water from the reservoir poured out of the destroyed watertight walls, and the imperial city was engulfed by water.
The blue-haired boy, who had escaped to higher ground, watched as the muddy waters swept away buildings and tore apart people and trees without distinction, creating a shelter with his hands.
"I tried to buy as much time as I could, but I wonder if everyone was able to escape. I hope the bosses didn't make the wrong decision in retreating because their blood was unexpectedly up in their heads."
Cecilus, dressed in a kimono and zori, muttered wittily.
In this epic battle for the Imperial Capital, the world's top actors came to the scene with their intuition and storytelling brains to identify the most difficult thing that was involved in changing the situation in every sense of the word.
In fact, without Cecilus's arbitrary and arbitrary action, the Imperial City would have been engulfed by water much sooner, and more people would have failed to escape, resulting in tremendous damage.
In that sense, Cecilus's actions were unexpected for everyone and at the same time called for a fortunate outcome for many of them.
But this was not the case for Cecilus, the party involved.
Cecilus leapt to surprise the third "enemy" who was trying to snatch victory with his tactless spear in the battle for the Imperial Capital, where the army of the dead had suddenly appeared, and the situation had changed.
It was truly a success that was designed to attract the world, and he can be proud of it.
And yet--,
"And yet it was completely unexpected."
Cecilus scratches his cheek at the sight of the corpses who, like him, have fled to higher ground in the muddy waters of the Imperial City, but who have not lost their attachment to the living.
There is no doubt that these are out-of-the-ordinary beings, brought back to life by a technique unknown to Cecilus.
In fact, he came across an entity that made them into such a thing.
Even though things had gone as Cecilus's intuition had led him to that point, he was still able to get the job done,
"--I didn't think that defeating the surgeon would stop things!"
At the feet of Cecilus, who raised his voice in this manner, the surgeon who revived and led the corpses is lying on the ground.
A young girl with beautiful peach-colored hair and long ears, who looked to be about the same age as Cecilus--it was the "Witch" who had confronted Cecilus, the "Blue Lightning", and had already lost her battle.