Arc 8: Vincent Vollachia
Arc 8, Chapter 4 "The Warrior Instinct"
--The "Giant Eye" Izmail was the hero of the Monocular tribe and the hope of the family.
In the center of his brave face, his large, blue eyes are clear and focused on the future without hesitation. --No, he was looking toward the future.
Now, Izmail's single eye was a sign of evil, like a golden moon in the dark night.
"----"
In the battle for the head of Emperor Vincent Vollachia, Izmail, who had entered the battlefield as a rebel seeking the head of Emperor Vincent Vollachia in a daring attempt to raise his family's name, broke through the defenses of the regular army with an activity that lived up to his previous reputation, and was the first to reach the city walls.
But that was the end of Izmail's rapid progress.
The hellfire that was unleashed consumed Izmail the "Giant Eye" and all the Monocular warriors that followed him, and even he, who survived half-dead, was killed by the merciless pursuit of the deadly blade.
Yes, he lost his life. --He should have.
"----"
Blown to pieces by the bombardment, his body was shredded into a thousand pieces, and he should have died for sure.
Nevertheless, Izmail stood up with arms and legs growing out of his burnt and blown-up body, carrying his war axe on his shoulder as he walked through the war-ravaged Imperial City.
The only thing that moves that cold, frigid body is a strong, swirling feeling of hatred--.
"--Where are you, you horrid beast?"
△▼△▼△▼△
"I've been able to get this far without running into anyone who was a 'general' when he was alive, but this guy up ahead is more than up to the task. Why, it's nasty."
"When you say 'general,' you mean......"
"There are exceptions who are recognized for their military and tactical skills, but most of the time it's their own skill that makes them stand out. This guy is one of them...... He is not as good as the first general, but he has enough eyes to rise to the second general."
"----"
"If you compare simple forces, he could kill all of us by himself."
With their own annihilation and a nonchalant attitude, Todd concluded his despairing report.
The powerful zombie enemy that awaits them - how deadly they are to the group - is a form of telling them that the bad luck that Subaru and his group have been protected from up to this point has run out.
"B-but you're a smart guy and you can handle it, can't you? You've done so well so far, with the help of these little ones."
Said Katya with a raised voice and a clinging look in her eyes at Todd.
The little guys she mentioned are Subaru and the others who are magically crystallizing zombies and Tanza who is destroying enemies who might be struck down.
Fortunately, up to this point, Louis has not had to come in to protect Rem and the rest of the following group, and the current situation has been paved by a combination of these two signs and Todd's good judgment.
However--,
"The force push is only effective up to a certain level of power rivalry. If you are playing against an opponent who has more than a certain gap in strength, it's no use. It is just like the wind, no matter how hard it blows, cannot topple a castle."
"Ugh......"
"So you think it's going to be tough going down this road, is that what you're saying, soldier?"
"Yes. --Is what I would say, but we can't change our ways so easily."
He nodded halfway through Flop and then shook his head. He turned his head to face the way he came from and the crystal palace,
"The other side is finally settled. The water will be coming soon."
As Todd pointed out in his unsympathetic way, the roar dominated the sky in the far distance.
Looking in the same direction as he did, he saw a huge humanoid being that had been colliding with the "dragon" by the crystal palace, both knees destroyed and a crumpled body falling to the ground, breaking the castle perimeter.
Behind the dense plume of smoke, the white dragon that defeated the Gigantic God screams out a heroic cry.
No creature, including zombies, would be able to understand that the rumbling sound was a battle cry, along with the sight of the zombies.
"If our guess earlier is correct......"
"We could go back the way we came and find another way, but I don't know if we'll make it in time."
"I suppose."
It is a conclusion that could drive them further and further into a corner, but as they put into words the course of events that they have no choice but to consider, Beatrice, who joined hands with Subaru, also affirmed Subaru's thoughts.
When Todd pulled back his chin in response, Tanza modestly raised her hand and said, "Um,"
"The situation is in limbo, isn't it? We have a strong enemy in front of us, but even if we want to go back, time will not allow us to do so."
"Hahaha, Miss Tanza, that is a very scary conclusion. It's true that picking up only the material you've been told will leave me feeling stuck in limbo and unsettled, but I'm sure there's a move left that I can take!"
"For example, what is it?"
"That's not for me to know, though! Who knows who might understand?"
Tanza, who has a hard time moving her emotions, frowned her round eyebrows and turned her gaze toward Flop's statement.
It is nice and gratifying to be aware of Subaru when the topic of someone they can count on comes up in these situations. It puts pressure on them, but it also makes them feel like they have to respond.
More to the point--,
"--Can you manage to do it?"
Yes, Tanza is not the only one who has high hopes for Subaru.
"----"
Rem, who is holding the wheelchair with Katya in it and the handle to push it from behind so tightly that her fingers turn white, asks him this question with shimmering pale blue eyes.
It would be something more fragile, like a castle on thin ice or sand, other than the total trust that Katya, by her side, has placed in Todd, as if she were clinging to him.
Still, Subaru's heart was excited.
He was able to keep his attention on Todd, who was accompanying him, and he was able to pull his attention back to the task at hand so that he could fully concentrate on it.
"If you don't decide soon whether to go or come back, you won't make it in time."
Todd piled on the conditions as if to remind Subaru to switch his mind.
If he goes, all he needs is strength. If he is going back, all he needs is luck and time. --If the premise is to "Return by Death", the latter may have a better chance of winning.
"No, that's not entirely true."
If he keeps repeating "Return by Death" and destroying the route of error, he may eventually reach another exit by the shortest route, but that is an idea that assumes there is a goal.
If he can't make it in time by whatever route he takes, he can't choose the latter option.
On the other hand, if he takes the fighting option--,
"What I can do to fight against powerful opponents......."
Among the fleeing Subaru and his party, the only ones who can be counted as a proper force are Subaru and Beatrice, Louis and Tanza, and Todd and Idola as a reserve force.
Of these, Subaru is a bonus for Beatrice, and Idola would like to be entrusted with escorting non-combatants such as Rem, Katya, Flop and the false crown princes.
In effect, the only four people who can serve as combatants are Beatrice, Louis, Tanza, and Todd - and they can't afford to laugh at that when the only person we can trust is a brilliant young girl.
Yes, that's what Subaru thought.
"----"
Subaru looked up, his hand on his chin in contemplation, and his gaze collided with Todd's, who looked in Subaru's direction at just the same moment.
At the moment, lightning flashed in Subaru's head, and the electrifying feeling of it was terribly dependable and bitter.
Because--,
" "--Let's take down some zombies." "
--Because he was acutely aware in his soul of the mutual conclusion and the simultaneous intuition that what was needed to accomplish it was a combination of strength and wisdom.
△▼△▼△▼△
--The moment he heard a loud sound of a different quality than the others, Izmail turned himself around.
"----"
Izmail replaced his supposedly burned body with a cracked, brand new replacement. The monocular hero opens his legs wide and lowers his posture, and his single eye catches the approach of a large shadow.
Izmail stood in the street, and flying in a parabola above his head was, what a joke, one of the houses that make up the Imperial City, which had been pulled out of traffic in its entirety.
Forcibly pulled off the ground and thrown about, spilling rags on the floor and walls, it scatters crumbs like a loaf of bread, but the reality is not that pretty, and most people would be crushed to death.
But then--,
"--Lukewarm!"
Izmail, the "Giant Eye," is on the side that doesn't fit into most people's frame of reference.
The flying houses are on a trajectory to land in the middle of the street, and as long as they are buried exactly on both sides, the only escape is front and back.
But to dare to prepare an escape route is to do what they want.
Hence, Izmail did not run forward or backward, but raised his battle axe.
Izmail easily handles a huge axe, which two strong warriors could lift, with one hand and cuts through any obstacle.
Again, the houses being thrown down suffered that fate.
At the moment of contact, the blade of the axe, slicing up from directly below, slid into the tip of the house, and a slash that cut the large man from the groin sliced the house in two.
The divided house ends up serving as a home, with the furniture, dishes, and clothing left by the householders smashed into the streets, without causing any damage to Izmail's body.
However--,
"--ngh"
Immediately after unleashing a major move, Izmail was hit in the face by a projectile.
Of course, this would not work against the monoculars, who have overwhelming vision compared to other races. Tilting his head, dodging flying projectiles, and dodging the dust from the houses, Izmail stared into the eyes.
The 'enemy' is in the direction of the houses and the stones, both of which were thrown.
--The pupillary technique of the monocular tribe switches the world that Izmail can see.
Izmail's eyes, which capture a target's emotions in color, saw multiple flickers of red in the direction the attack was thrown. --The color of wariness.
That in itself is desirable, and Izmail's whole body is filled with strength.
There is nothing more deflating than fighting something that does not bear the colors of a warrior, whether in this siege of the imperial capital or in a battle against a bandit or another race.
It is only in such battles, warrior against warrior, warrior against warrior, that it is worth competing in skill.
The source of the hatred that drives the body of Izmail, who is supposed to be dead, is largely due to the fact that such universal honor of the warrior was defiled.
"Now--"
Stepping into the dirt-strewn streets, Izmail's body advances toward the enemy.
The same projectile gravel is thrown as before to intercept it, and the next mass projectile - a house - is parabolized in tow of the gravel, but he doesn't consider it cowardly or a tactic of the weak.
That is a fine tactic. He must only destroy it with respect.
"A warrior's death is brought about by the hands of a warrior."
The speed and accuracy of the gravel approaching from the front is quite high, and although he responds with minimal ducking and parrying with his raised battle axe, it is difficult to avoid having your bones shattered if you take it seriously.
Needless to say, the mass of bullets thrown into the houses are so powerful that they immediately disable the combatants.
However--,
"Don't think it's your prerogative to fly anything!"
A howling Izmail swung his battle-axe, which blew the second house shell away, and with the momentum of the blade he drove it into the street, tearing the ground of the imperial city.
As it is, Izmail swings his long leg around to the ground he flipped up and launches a kick, which blasts it in front of him like a scattershot. Naturally, he does not expect this to be an effective strike against the enemy across the street.
"It's just a distraction, but......"
Unlike the monocular race, other races without special eyes cannot see through the curtain of dust that dances around them.
Izmail hid in the dust and shattered street debris, and the gravel being thrown at him was clearly less deadly, giving Izmail a reprieve to further advance.
"A big man and a little girl--"
A curtain of smoke, and if Izmail peeks through his eyes to the other side of the curtain, he can clearly see the other side, which is a man and a girl, for the distance they are packed.
A man takes the role of checking Izmail with gravel, and a small girl beside him pulls the four sides of the house off the ground and throws it in as a mass projectile.
It is a breathtaking collaboration, but at the same time, what is disconcerting is the immaturity of their behavior.
Izmail, who has honed his skills on the battlefield, understands.
Neither of these two men, who had gone on the offensive, were genuine warriors. Nevertheless, they had developed a warrior's spirit, which was really chic for Izmail, who was being targeted.
Sometimes the battlefield can transform a non-warrior into a warrior in a matter of hours.
The same thing is happening to the man and the girl.
"Brilliant."
They must be admired, respected, and killed at all costs.
He must kill them completely, without hesitation, without the slightest error. He must cut off every last bit of its life and choke the life out of them.
He must tear off the limbs, rip off the neck, and sip the blood of the heart organs that he has pulled out--.
"----"
He can feel the fierce death, blood, and thirst for life burning in his own head.
At the same time, Izmail saw his own image reflected in a window pane that was breaking with a high-pitched cracking sound amidst the shells of the third house he smashed.
Izmail laughed.
The edges of his mouth twisted as if he was applauding the ferocious heat that radiated through his cold, bloodless body. It was a wicked smile that had never appeared before his death and had only the scent of blood.
"Haha, hahaha, HAHAHAHAHA!"
Instead of disgust at the smile, a furious exhilaration welled up and laughter erupted.
With a sneer and a laugh, he strikes down a stray hit of incoming debris, dives himself into the next house shell, and makes a suicide attack, smashing it with his battle axe.
The two warriors throw in while fleeing backwards--No, they jump on their prey.
The fifth house, Izmail slammed his battle axe into it like a last stand and tried to bless the boiling blood applause with real blood--,
"--I guess one eyeball narrows your field of vision, huh?"
"----"
The house flies in a parabolic path, smashes down the front door just in front of it with an axe, and the entire deflected existence explodes like a bubble, propagating the force of destruction as it is.
Just before it was triggered, someone's taunt struck Izmail's eardrums.
--No, no no no no no, no way.
It is not a taunt of 'someone'.
The voice that is the most despicable, the symbol of evil, the object of hatred for Izmail.
"YOU BITCH--!!"
The excitement that had been building up to the moment before was drowned out, and a cold killing intent took over all of Izmail's body.
Izmail's wide-open, black-tinted golden eyes caught the image of a single Imperial soldier with orange hair, who was stuck to the floor in a destroyed house--.
--It was the very enemy that caused Izmail's "death".
"--Ohhhhh..."
A moment later, Izmail's battleaxe changes course as he twists himself in an erupting rage.
The axe strike, which was supposed to cut a house in half, was diverted from its vertical impact to a diagonal trajectory at a moment's notice, and was about to strike a prone Imperial soldier--,
"--oh"
Just before he was about to strike with his full strength at his grudge enemy, the imperial soldier suddenly disappeared from Izmail's sight as he carried his spirit in a yell.
It moved at breakneck speed, it was nothing of this dimension.
They literally disappeared.
"----"
A moment later, Izmail's thoughts are completely painted in black and white.
The hatred that spewed out toward the vindictive enemy had nowhere to go, and his mind was dominated by the blankness caused by the strange phenomenon. But just before that moment, Izmail's "Giant Eye" caught the discrepancy.
The loathsome figure of the adversary who lay face down, the girl with long golden hair who gripped the leather belt around her waist.
"----"
She doesn't know the intent or reason, but she doesn't think the information was disseminated irrelevantly.
Even though they had only been in contact with him for a short time, the negative trust that the imperial soldier would not bring in unnecessary elements without a second thought took Izmail's thoughts away.
There--,
"--Gah?!"
A piercing impact pierced Izmail's left shoulder, causing him to squeal in agony.
In a house whose destruction had been interrupted, a shot was fired through the wall into Izmail, a shot of gravel thrown at high speed, whether by a stray hit or aimed at him.
The force of the blow, which he was sure would shatter his bones if it hit him, exploded into Izmail's left shoulder, and as a result, Izmail's body did not scream--not even for a second.
Izmail's body was bloodless and cracked in places. It shattered with a terrible and stupefying sound in the target of the gravel.
That is exactly what happened with the glass windows of the houses that Izmail himself shattered.
"----"
For a moment, Izmail's thoughts stopped at his own shattered left arm.
However, while there was surprise, the fact that there was no pain as there should have been stopped his consciousness from being torn into a thousand pieces. Hence, he did not miss the next change.
"My arm..."
The arm, shattered at the shoulder and nearly falling to the floor of the leaning house, regenerates through inexplicable movements as if time is turning back, cracks are filled, and the shattered pieces return and are repaired.
It took less than two seconds, as if the crushing itself had never happened.
"Hah--!"
He quickly switched the battle-axe in his right hand to his freshly repaired left hand, and with the intention of checking the feel of it, Izmail fired an axe shot, which this time exploded the half-destroyed shells of the house.
The structure, a mixture of stone and wood, was destroyed, and Izmail pushed through to the outside, bathed in flying debris - as it was, he reached out with his right hand for the presence of the approaching hostility.
The flying fist-sized gravel is caught squarely in the face with the outstretched right hand.
If the impact is not passed on, of course, the bones of the right hand will be broken painfully. However, Izmail's body deviated from the way the human body breaks and practiced the breakage of an inorganic object.
It is then restored to its original state with more resilience than the human body can heal.
"This is what this body is really about......tsk"
Izmail moved with hatred, unconsciously turning away from the unnatural situation in which he was placed.
This horrific body, brought back to life by an inexplicable resurrection, kept Izmail away from blood, pain, and even 'death', which is a necessary part of life.
Then--,
"--Hah."
Exhaling, Izmail saw below him the scene he had hoped to see.
The man and the girl who had just attacked Izmail boldly, and the cowardly grudge enemy who stood just behind both of them and disappeared into the distance just before they could reach him.
The method is unknown, but the moment he disappeared from Izmail's sight, he appeared behind them, and the warriors joined hands with the coward.
At that moment, the admiration for the warrior that had just been there reverses and turns into a sloshing hatred.
"All of you, redeem yourselves with your lives for the folly of war--."
Kicking at the debris of the houses that were blown away, Izmail's body flew like an arrow.
The girl, who has decided that the next house will not be ready in time for the body that is coming straight at the undesirables, begins to throw gravel, as does the bearded man standing next to her.
However--,
"--It doesn't work, it doesn't work, it doesn't work!"
The gravel that catches Izmail at high speed, not to mention swinging his battle-axe to strike him down, however, prevents Izmail from taking action and frustrates his mind.
Even if the area exposed to the gravel is shattered, it is repaired in the blink of an eye and no damage is done.
With a new body that has given up the feeling of life, Izmail is trying to get the feeling of life from somewhere else by bathing in blood, and turned to the strong faces of his enemies--,
"----"
He tries to reach out his hand and realize.
Neither the bearded man, nor the girl in the kimono, nor the imperial soldier whom he has designated as his hated and great enemy, are dead in their expressions.
The bearded man and the girl in red, the grudge match in blue again, are the moment to identify the color.
--Izmail senses the appearance of a presence behind him as he leaps toward the enemy.
"--"
Izmail's warrior instincts sounded the alarm, and he twisted in mid-air to shake off the presence.
The "Giant Eye" that opened, and reflected in those golden eyes, was a person who somehow, in this instant, had come up behind him--no, not a person. There were three shadows.
A boy with black hair and a girl in a dress in his arms.
And the blonde girl, who should have been by the grudge earlier, clings to the boy's back.
All three, small but red-hot with wariness, held up their hands.
"El--"
The chanting was mumbled, and the warrior instinct of Izmail reacted immediately to kick the debris.
But, holding back his instincts, Izmail extended his arm to swing his battle-axe. He did not duck his opponent's attack, he did not stop, and he did not fight back even as he was bathed in it.
He said that he would slaughter his enemies with attacks that were impossible with his former body, but possible with the slashes that are possible now--,
"Minya--!!"
The purple-blue radiance was emitted, and Izmail dared to catch it as it flew straight at him.
He planned to counterattack from there, but he didn't realize it.
--The hero of the monocular tribe, "Giant Eye" Izmail, would never have made such a foolish choice.
Arc 8, Chapter 4 "The Warrior Instinct"
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--The "Giant Eye" Izmail was the hero of the Monocular tribe and the hope of the family.
In the center of his brave face, his large, blue eyes are clear and focused on the future without hesitation. --No, he was looking toward the future.
Now, Izmail's single eye was a sign of evil, like a golden moon in the dark night.
"----"
In the battle for the head of Emperor Vincent Vollachia, Izmail, who had entered the battlefield as a rebel seeking the head of Emperor Vincent Vollachia in a daring attempt to raise his family's name, broke through the defenses of the regular army with an activity that lived up to his previous reputation, and was the first to reach the city walls.
But that was the end of Izmail's rapid progress.
The hellfire that was unleashed consumed Izmail the "Giant Eye" and all the Monocular warriors that followed him, and even he, who survived half-dead, was killed by the merciless pursuit of the deadly blade.
Yes, he lost his life. --He should have.
"----"
Blown to pieces by the bombardment, his body was shredded into a thousand pieces, and he should have died for sure.
Nevertheless, Izmail stood up with arms and legs growing out of his burnt and blown-up body, carrying his war axe on his shoulder as he walked through the war-ravaged Imperial City.
The only thing that moves that cold, frigid body is a strong, swirling feeling of hatred--.
"--Where are you, you horrid beast?"
△▼△▼△▼△
"I've been able to get this far without running into anyone who was a 'general' when he was alive, but this guy up ahead is more than up to the task. Why, it's nasty."
"When you say 'general,' you mean......"
"There are exceptions who are recognized for their military and tactical skills, but most of the time it's their own skill that makes them stand out. This guy is one of them...... He is not as good as the first general, but he has enough eyes to rise to the second general."
"----"
"If you compare simple forces, he could kill all of us by himself."
With their own annihilation and a nonchalant attitude, Todd concluded his despairing report.
The powerful zombie enemy that awaits them - how deadly they are to the group - is a form of telling them that the bad luck that Subaru and his group have been protected from up to this point has run out.
"B-but you're a smart guy and you can handle it, can't you? You've done so well so far, with the help of these little ones."
Said Katya with a raised voice and a clinging look in her eyes at Todd.
The little guys she mentioned are Subaru and the others who are magically crystallizing zombies and Tanza who is destroying enemies who might be struck down.
Fortunately, up to this point, Louis has not had to come in to protect Rem and the rest of the following group, and the current situation has been paved by a combination of these two signs and Todd's good judgment.
However--,
"The force push is only effective up to a certain level of power rivalry. If you are playing against an opponent who has more than a certain gap in strength, it's no use. It is just like the wind, no matter how hard it blows, cannot topple a castle."
"Ugh......"
"So you think it's going to be tough going down this road, is that what you're saying, soldier?"
"Yes. --Is what I would say, but we can't change our ways so easily."
He nodded halfway through Flop and then shook his head. He turned his head to face the way he came from and the crystal palace,
"The other side is finally settled. The water will be coming soon."
As Todd pointed out in his unsympathetic way, the roar dominated the sky in the far distance.
Looking in the same direction as he did, he saw a huge humanoid being that had been colliding with the "dragon" by the crystal palace, both knees destroyed and a crumpled body falling to the ground, breaking the castle perimeter.
Behind the dense plume of smoke, the white dragon that defeated the Gigantic God screams out a heroic cry.
No creature, including zombies, would be able to understand that the rumbling sound was a battle cry, along with the sight of the zombies.
"If our guess earlier is correct......"
"We could go back the way we came and find another way, but I don't know if we'll make it in time."
"I suppose."
It is a conclusion that could drive them further and further into a corner, but as they put into words the course of events that they have no choice but to consider, Beatrice, who joined hands with Subaru, also affirmed Subaru's thoughts.
When Todd pulled back his chin in response, Tanza modestly raised her hand and said, "Um,"
"The situation is in limbo, isn't it? We have a strong enemy in front of us, but even if we want to go back, time will not allow us to do so."
"Hahaha, Miss Tanza, that is a very scary conclusion. It's true that picking up only the material you've been told will leave me feeling stuck in limbo and unsettled, but I'm sure there's a move left that I can take!"
"For example, what is it?"
"That's not for me to know, though! Who knows who might understand?"
Tanza, who has a hard time moving her emotions, frowned her round eyebrows and turned her gaze toward Flop's statement.
It is nice and gratifying to be aware of Subaru when the topic of someone they can count on comes up in these situations. It puts pressure on them, but it also makes them feel like they have to respond.
More to the point--,
"--Can you manage to do it?"
Yes, Tanza is not the only one who has high hopes for Subaru.
"----"
Rem, who is holding the wheelchair with Katya in it and the handle to push it from behind so tightly that her fingers turn white, asks him this question with shimmering pale blue eyes.
It would be something more fragile, like a castle on thin ice or sand, other than the total trust that Katya, by her side, has placed in Todd, as if she were clinging to him.
Still, Subaru's heart was excited.
He was able to keep his attention on Todd, who was accompanying him, and he was able to pull his attention back to the task at hand so that he could fully concentrate on it.
"If you don't decide soon whether to go or come back, you won't make it in time."
Todd piled on the conditions as if to remind Subaru to switch his mind.
If he goes, all he needs is strength. If he is going back, all he needs is luck and time. --If the premise is to "Return by Death", the latter may have a better chance of winning.
"No, that's not entirely true."
If he keeps repeating "Return by Death" and destroying the route of error, he may eventually reach another exit by the shortest route, but that is an idea that assumes there is a goal.
If he can't make it in time by whatever route he takes, he can't choose the latter option.
On the other hand, if he takes the fighting option--,
"What I can do to fight against powerful opponents......."
Among the fleeing Subaru and his party, the only ones who can be counted as a proper force are Subaru and Beatrice, Louis and Tanza, and Todd and Idola as a reserve force.
Of these, Subaru is a bonus for Beatrice, and Idola would like to be entrusted with escorting non-combatants such as Rem, Katya, Flop and the false crown princes.
In effect, the only four people who can serve as combatants are Beatrice, Louis, Tanza, and Todd - and they can't afford to laugh at that when the only person we can trust is a brilliant young girl.
Yes, that's what Subaru thought.
"----"
Subaru looked up, his hand on his chin in contemplation, and his gaze collided with Todd's, who looked in Subaru's direction at just the same moment.
At the moment, lightning flashed in Subaru's head, and the electrifying feeling of it was terribly dependable and bitter.
Because--,
" "--Let's take down some zombies." "
--Because he was acutely aware in his soul of the mutual conclusion and the simultaneous intuition that what was needed to accomplish it was a combination of strength and wisdom.
△▼△▼△▼△
--The moment he heard a loud sound of a different quality than the others, Izmail turned himself around.
"----"
Izmail replaced his supposedly burned body with a cracked, brand new replacement. The monocular hero opens his legs wide and lowers his posture, and his single eye catches the approach of a large shadow.
Izmail stood in the street, and flying in a parabola above his head was, what a joke, one of the houses that make up the Imperial City, which had been pulled out of traffic in its entirety.
Forcibly pulled off the ground and thrown about, spilling rags on the floor and walls, it scatters crumbs like a loaf of bread, but the reality is not that pretty, and most people would be crushed to death.
But then--,
"--Lukewarm!"
Izmail, the "Giant Eye," is on the side that doesn't fit into most people's frame of reference.
The flying houses are on a trajectory to land in the middle of the street, and as long as they are buried exactly on both sides, the only escape is front and back.
But to dare to prepare an escape route is to do what they want.
Hence, Izmail did not run forward or backward, but raised his battle axe.
Izmail easily handles a huge axe, which two strong warriors could lift, with one hand and cuts through any obstacle.
Again, the houses being thrown down suffered that fate.
At the moment of contact, the blade of the axe, slicing up from directly below, slid into the tip of the house, and a slash that cut the large man from the groin sliced the house in two.
The divided house ends up serving as a home, with the furniture, dishes, and clothing left by the householders smashed into the streets, without causing any damage to Izmail's body.
However--,
"--ngh"
Immediately after unleashing a major move, Izmail was hit in the face by a projectile.
Of course, this would not work against the monoculars, who have overwhelming vision compared to other races. Tilting his head, dodging flying projectiles, and dodging the dust from the houses, Izmail stared into the eyes.
The 'enemy' is in the direction of the houses and the stones, both of which were thrown.
--The pupillary technique of the monocular tribe switches the world that Izmail can see.
Izmail's eyes, which capture a target's emotions in color, saw multiple flickers of red in the direction the attack was thrown. --The color of wariness.
That in itself is desirable, and Izmail's whole body is filled with strength.
There is nothing more deflating than fighting something that does not bear the colors of a warrior, whether in this siege of the imperial capital or in a battle against a bandit or another race.
It is only in such battles, warrior against warrior, warrior against warrior, that it is worth competing in skill.
The source of the hatred that drives the body of Izmail, who is supposed to be dead, is largely due to the fact that such universal honor of the warrior was defiled.
"Now--"
Stepping into the dirt-strewn streets, Izmail's body advances toward the enemy.
The same projectile gravel is thrown as before to intercept it, and the next mass projectile - a house - is parabolized in tow of the gravel, but he doesn't consider it cowardly or a tactic of the weak.
That is a fine tactic. He must only destroy it with respect.
"A warrior's death is brought about by the hands of a warrior."
The speed and accuracy of the gravel approaching from the front is quite high, and although he responds with minimal ducking and parrying with his raised battle axe, it is difficult to avoid having your bones shattered if you take it seriously.
Needless to say, the mass of bullets thrown into the houses are so powerful that they immediately disable the combatants.
However--,
"Don't think it's your prerogative to fly anything!"
A howling Izmail swung his battle-axe, which blew the second house shell away, and with the momentum of the blade he drove it into the street, tearing the ground of the imperial city.
As it is, Izmail swings his long leg around to the ground he flipped up and launches a kick, which blasts it in front of him like a scattershot. Naturally, he does not expect this to be an effective strike against the enemy across the street.
"It's just a distraction, but......"
Unlike the monocular race, other races without special eyes cannot see through the curtain of dust that dances around them.
Izmail hid in the dust and shattered street debris, and the gravel being thrown at him was clearly less deadly, giving Izmail a reprieve to further advance.
"A big man and a little girl--"
A curtain of smoke, and if Izmail peeks through his eyes to the other side of the curtain, he can clearly see the other side, which is a man and a girl, for the distance they are packed.
A man takes the role of checking Izmail with gravel, and a small girl beside him pulls the four sides of the house off the ground and throws it in as a mass projectile.
It is a breathtaking collaboration, but at the same time, what is disconcerting is the immaturity of their behavior.
Izmail, who has honed his skills on the battlefield, understands.
Neither of these two men, who had gone on the offensive, were genuine warriors. Nevertheless, they had developed a warrior's spirit, which was really chic for Izmail, who was being targeted.
Sometimes the battlefield can transform a non-warrior into a warrior in a matter of hours.
The same thing is happening to the man and the girl.
"Brilliant."
They must be admired, respected, and killed at all costs.
He must kill them completely, without hesitation, without the slightest error. He must cut off every last bit of its life and choke the life out of them.
He must tear off the limbs, rip off the neck, and sip the blood of the heart organs that he has pulled out--.
"----"
He can feel the fierce death, blood, and thirst for life burning in his own head.
At the same time, Izmail saw his own image reflected in a window pane that was breaking with a high-pitched cracking sound amidst the shells of the third house he smashed.
Izmail laughed.
The edges of his mouth twisted as if he was applauding the ferocious heat that radiated through his cold, bloodless body. It was a wicked smile that had never appeared before his death and had only the scent of blood.
"Haha, hahaha, HAHAHAHAHA!"
Instead of disgust at the smile, a furious exhilaration welled up and laughter erupted.
With a sneer and a laugh, he strikes down a stray hit of incoming debris, dives himself into the next house shell, and makes a suicide attack, smashing it with his battle axe.
The two warriors throw in while fleeing backwards--No, they jump on their prey.
The fifth house, Izmail slammed his battle axe into it like a last stand and tried to bless the boiling blood applause with real blood--,
"--I guess one eyeball narrows your field of vision, huh?"
"----"
The house flies in a parabolic path, smashes down the front door just in front of it with an axe, and the entire deflected existence explodes like a bubble, propagating the force of destruction as it is.
Just before it was triggered, someone's taunt struck Izmail's eardrums.
--No, no no no no no, no way.
It is not a taunt of 'someone'.
The voice that is the most despicable, the symbol of evil, the object of hatred for Izmail.
"YOU BITCH--!!"
The excitement that had been building up to the moment before was drowned out, and a cold killing intent took over all of Izmail's body.
Izmail's wide-open, black-tinted golden eyes caught the image of a single Imperial soldier with orange hair, who was stuck to the floor in a destroyed house--.
--It was the very enemy that caused Izmail's "death".
"--Ohhhhh..."
A moment later, Izmail's battleaxe changes course as he twists himself in an erupting rage.
The axe strike, which was supposed to cut a house in half, was diverted from its vertical impact to a diagonal trajectory at a moment's notice, and was about to strike a prone Imperial soldier--,
"--oh"
Just before he was about to strike with his full strength at his grudge enemy, the imperial soldier suddenly disappeared from Izmail's sight as he carried his spirit in a yell.
It moved at breakneck speed, it was nothing of this dimension.
They literally disappeared.
"----"
A moment later, Izmail's thoughts are completely painted in black and white.
The hatred that spewed out toward the vindictive enemy had nowhere to go, and his mind was dominated by the blankness caused by the strange phenomenon. But just before that moment, Izmail's "Giant Eye" caught the discrepancy.
The loathsome figure of the adversary who lay face down, the girl with long golden hair who gripped the leather belt around her waist.
"----"
She doesn't know the intent or reason, but she doesn't think the information was disseminated irrelevantly.
Even though they had only been in contact with him for a short time, the negative trust that the imperial soldier would not bring in unnecessary elements without a second thought took Izmail's thoughts away.
There--,
"--Gah?!"
A piercing impact pierced Izmail's left shoulder, causing him to squeal in agony.
In a house whose destruction had been interrupted, a shot was fired through the wall into Izmail, a shot of gravel thrown at high speed, whether by a stray hit or aimed at him.
The force of the blow, which he was sure would shatter his bones if it hit him, exploded into Izmail's left shoulder, and as a result, Izmail's body did not scream--not even for a second.
Izmail's body was bloodless and cracked in places. It shattered with a terrible and stupefying sound in the target of the gravel.
That is exactly what happened with the glass windows of the houses that Izmail himself shattered.
"----"
For a moment, Izmail's thoughts stopped at his own shattered left arm.
However, while there was surprise, the fact that there was no pain as there should have been stopped his consciousness from being torn into a thousand pieces. Hence, he did not miss the next change.
"My arm..."
The arm, shattered at the shoulder and nearly falling to the floor of the leaning house, regenerates through inexplicable movements as if time is turning back, cracks are filled, and the shattered pieces return and are repaired.
It took less than two seconds, as if the crushing itself had never happened.
"Hah--!"
He quickly switched the battle-axe in his right hand to his freshly repaired left hand, and with the intention of checking the feel of it, Izmail fired an axe shot, which this time exploded the half-destroyed shells of the house.
The structure, a mixture of stone and wood, was destroyed, and Izmail pushed through to the outside, bathed in flying debris - as it was, he reached out with his right hand for the presence of the approaching hostility.
The flying fist-sized gravel is caught squarely in the face with the outstretched right hand.
If the impact is not passed on, of course, the bones of the right hand will be broken painfully. However, Izmail's body deviated from the way the human body breaks and practiced the breakage of an inorganic object.
It is then restored to its original state with more resilience than the human body can heal.
"This is what this body is really about......tsk"
Izmail moved with hatred, unconsciously turning away from the unnatural situation in which he was placed.
This horrific body, brought back to life by an inexplicable resurrection, kept Izmail away from blood, pain, and even 'death', which is a necessary part of life.
Then--,
"--Hah."
Exhaling, Izmail saw below him the scene he had hoped to see.
The man and the girl who had just attacked Izmail boldly, and the cowardly grudge enemy who stood just behind both of them and disappeared into the distance just before they could reach him.
The method is unknown, but the moment he disappeared from Izmail's sight, he appeared behind them, and the warriors joined hands with the coward.
At that moment, the admiration for the warrior that had just been there reverses and turns into a sloshing hatred.
"All of you, redeem yourselves with your lives for the folly of war--."
Kicking at the debris of the houses that were blown away, Izmail's body flew like an arrow.
The girl, who has decided that the next house will not be ready in time for the body that is coming straight at the undesirables, begins to throw gravel, as does the bearded man standing next to her.
However--,
"--It doesn't work, it doesn't work, it doesn't work!"
The gravel that catches Izmail at high speed, not to mention swinging his battle-axe to strike him down, however, prevents Izmail from taking action and frustrates his mind.
Even if the area exposed to the gravel is shattered, it is repaired in the blink of an eye and no damage is done.
With a new body that has given up the feeling of life, Izmail is trying to get the feeling of life from somewhere else by bathing in blood, and turned to the strong faces of his enemies--,
"----"
He tries to reach out his hand and realize.
Neither the bearded man, nor the girl in the kimono, nor the imperial soldier whom he has designated as his hated and great enemy, are dead in their expressions.
The bearded man and the girl in red, the grudge match in blue again, are the moment to identify the color.
--Izmail senses the appearance of a presence behind him as he leaps toward the enemy.
"--"
Izmail's warrior instincts sounded the alarm, and he twisted in mid-air to shake off the presence.
The "Giant Eye" that opened, and reflected in those golden eyes, was a person who somehow, in this instant, had come up behind him--no, not a person. There were three shadows.
A boy with black hair and a girl in a dress in his arms.
And the blonde girl, who should have been by the grudge earlier, clings to the boy's back.
All three, small but red-hot with wariness, held up their hands.
"El--"
The chanting was mumbled, and the warrior instinct of Izmail reacted immediately to kick the debris.
But, holding back his instincts, Izmail extended his arm to swing his battle-axe. He did not duck his opponent's attack, he did not stop, and he did not fight back even as he was bathed in it.
He said that he would slaughter his enemies with attacks that were impossible with his former body, but possible with the slashes that are possible now--,
"Minya--!!"
The purple-blue radiance was emitted, and Izmail dared to catch it as it flew straight at him.
He planned to counterattack from there, but he didn't realize it.
--The hero of the monocular tribe, "Giant Eye" Izmail, would never have made such a foolish choice.
