novelTwo Thirds
| ← Ch.333 | Ch.335 → |
United Front Arc
Naofumi: "Now then, with this, we've pretty much finished cleaning up his forces. Go shoot some light magic."
As per Trash's order, I give the command. Sadina raises her harpoon into the sky and chants magic.
Well, the Cane should have flown to the man, so he should already know the conclusion.
"Hmm? Wha-"
When I look towards the battlefield, I find myself at a loss for words.
It's fine that smoke's rising from the castle town.
I mean, the fires seem to have subsided greatly.
The problem is the area close to the fortress.
The remnants of about half the Faublian army come running... seemingly after suffering heavy damage.
Ren: "Naofumi."
Ren points to the battlefield.
At that moment, something glows, and a beam of light shoots through the Faublian army.
Ren: "Do you know what's happening?"
Naofumi: "... Probably."
It was fired from Melromark's side, and based on the marks left behind, I think it's heavy artillery.
After that, a thick laser-like beam pierces the sky.
Naofumi: "I think it's Rat's new weapon... and Trash's skill."
A carriage-type... no, Tank-type Mii-kun is probably letting loose the armaments equipped on him.
Like a swarm of baby spiders, half of the Faublian army scatters and flees in this direction. The rest appear to have surrendered. There's no sign of movement from them.
Naofumi: "More importantly. We should arrest Tact and his followers already, and go fight the wave."
Ren: "Yeah."
I don't know if any force will come to assist him, so I wonder what I should do.
Raphtalia: "Witch... don't think you can escape."
With hammer in hand, Raphtalia stands before Witch, who was quietly trying to escape. She glares at her.
Remembering the events up until now, there's not a single person who will let that bitch go.
Just how many things had to become sacrifices because of her?
"Ku..."
Naofumi: "Your life is already over. It's time for you to prepare for your painful execution."
I point my thumb towards the ground and look to Sadina.
Sadina: "Arara. 「Dreifach Thunderbolt」!"
As if she guessed my intention, Sadina casts lightning magic to prevent Witch's escape.
Witch: "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
It was quite a cry.
"KYAAAAAAAH!"
Seeing the tempest of lightning dancing before them, Tact's women raise up some screams.
It's paralysis. Moving will be impossible for her.
We definitely have no intention of letting her escape.
Naofumi: "Even if she's rotten, her level is unnecessarily high. Firo, look over her. If she tries anything strange, kill her without hesitation."
Firo: "What about Master?"
Naofumi: "I'll head to the wave with Gaelion."
Firo: "Eh? Firo wants to be on that side."
Naofumi: "Deal with it. Helping out here will help Melty out in the long run."
Firo: "Really? Then Firo will dot it."
For Firo, Melty's a precious friend.
I'll bet that having her look after the source of all of this world's evil will prove beneficial to her reputation.
Naofumi: "Gaelion, how long are you going to dig around in that? Let's go already."
Gaelion: "...Kyua..."
Hmm? Gaelion's acting strange.
He flies to me in his child mode.
Oy, don't touch me when you're covered in blood.
Though, the blood on my body (Tact's) isn't something to laugh at either.
Gaelion: "Kyua."
Gaelion chants water magic to wash his body.
... He could use something like that?
He gets on my shoulder and speaks in a soft voice.
Gaelion: "I've gathered a majority of the fragments. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I've remembered mostly everything."
Naofumi: "I see. Even on how to breach the level limit?"
Gaelion: "Yeah, something like that is of no trouble to me. More importantly, there was a piece of important information in that woman's fragments."
What? I've already heard about the wave from the spirits, and Trash was able to deduce a bit from the memos left by the Queen.
Gaelion: "It's about the Four Good Omens. You were talking about the wave earlier, right?"
Naofumi: "Yes, and?"
Gaelion: "The Four omens offer their souls to protect the world from the wave, and they hold the power to prevent it. That's why the legendary weapon wielders, and their brethren, aren't transferred to combat them when they appear."
I see. I did think it was something like that, but this clinches it.
It was something I thought up quite a while ago.
The Four Omens were definitely our enemies, but perhaps they were allies of the world.
That means...
Gaelion: "I am... No, if Ouryuu, who's sealed within the Dragon Emperor Fragments were to be released, then he would sacrifice an estimated two thirds of the world's population, and the wave will..."
-Stop.
At that moment, my attention turns to the Dragon Hourglass icon in my field of vision.
Since I registered at Zeltburg's hourglass, what's displayed is the time until Zeltburg's wave.
Numbers representing the remaining time appear, and a world map with the indicated location pops up.
What's more, a window with 『Will you heed this summon?』 and the choices 『Yes / No』 float before me.
This may be quite a dire situation.
The location is close to Melromark's... southwest border.
It appears I can teleport there, but if the Heroes were to warp, then Tact and Witch would get away.
Naofumi: "Firo, Sadina, and Ren, you watch over these people. We'll respond to these summons."
Ren: "Got it."
Sadina: "Leave it to onee-san."
Firo: "Firo too."
With those three on guard, I don't think they can run.
Ren's become able to use a bit of support magic, so the 250-level gap shouldn't hold too much meaning.
They don't seem to have any growth corrections or status boosts, so our base power is different.
Raphtalia: "Let's go."
Raphtalia calls out to me.
Her raised hand is clamping around a ridiculously large mallet.
A Seven Star Weapon... no, a brethren of the four holy weapons.
Naofumi: "Are you fine with that weapon?"
Raphtalia: "Yes. Hengen Musou doesn't restrict itself to a single weapon."
Naofumi: "Ah, that's true. Fohl, we'll have to put off harassing that man to a later date. You understand?"
Fohl: "...Yeah."
He seems reluctant, but he nods anyways.
And Raph-chan jumps towards me.
He grabs onto the surface of my Shield.
Raph-chan: "Rafu~"
Naofumi: "You want to come too?"
Raph-chan: "Rafu~!"
I'd like it if he stopped swinging that sword around in his Tanuki mode... but he seems to have the motivation to fight, so I'll bring him along.
I turn back to Gaelion.
Gaelion: "So, the wave... will stop. Will you do it?"
Sacrificing about two thirds of the population to ensure the longevity of the world?
With the end result taken into consideration, I guess it's not a bad hand to play.
Thinking about the true enemy we have to fight, it's quite a difficult problem.
But, the cost is too great for me to make the choice.
Naofumi: "Yep, let's leave that as a final option."
Gaelion: "... As it should be. The Dragon Emperor asked the Heroes of the Past to seal him. In order to prepare for an event like this. It's beneficial to us that that Fake Hero was unable to bring himself to kill that dragon and instead kept it close."
No, I think that's just because she was a Bishoujo when in Human form. But I won't say it.
I pick 『Yes』 from the options floating in the air.
At that moment, all those in my party and I were sent flying to the wave.
This wave has both Itsuki and Motoyasu fighting in it.
What could be happening?
We have to check the situation.
The scene I witness upon teleportation leaves me dumbfounded.
A large fissure has spread throughout the sky, and on the other side... was but another world.
And right now, the fissure gradually begins to increase in size.
The Apocalypse... the word crosses my mind.
It was a scene bizarre enough to warrant such a thought.
Even though I heard most of it from the spirits, I'm still this disturbed.
Raphtalia and the others might be looking at fear itself.
I look around.
The villagers were frantically repelling the raging monsters of the wave.
There was also an unfamiliar flock of Filo Rials and a Queen pulling a carriage resembling Rat's tank.
"KUEEEEEEEEEE!"
In answer to the Filo Rial's scream, light gathers around the barrel of the mounted cannon. It releases a beam that cuts through the rampaging monsters.
「Energy Blaster」!
Itsuki changes his Bow to a Rifle and uses a skill.
The Legendary Bow sure encompasses quite a few categories.
Even firearms are allowed... I'm jealous.
But now's not the time to think about it.
I call out to Itsuki, who was concentrating on the monsters emerging from the sky.
Naofumi: "Itsuki! Reinforcements have arrived!"
Itsuki: "Naofumi-san! You came at a good time! Quickly, the Wave..."
Naofumi: "Y-yeah!"
When I nod, the people I brought with me begin running towards the source.
Thinking about it, what should we do about the origin of the wave?
Itsuki: "Quickly, the enemy that... came from the wave. Please beat it with Motoyasu-san!"
Naofumi: "U-understood! 「All Revelation Aura X」!"
Upon receiving my support magic, we start off towards the boss monster.
The Aura Spell, All Revelation Aura, casts a status buff on all those I consider an ally within a limited area.
Itsuki: "It's about time the first will wear off. 「All Revelation Down X」!"
Ah, I forgot to mention it.
The magic Itsuki learned on Cal Mira was Down.
You can probably guess by the name, but it's a debuff that's the exact opposite of Aura.
It lowers all stats.
When used on an enemy, their abilities fall considerably.
With my Aura and Itsuki's Down, the battle should... become easier!
When I look at those who were fighting before we got here, their movements have gotten better. Their skills have risen, but the amount of enemies isn't decreasing.
It looks like monsters are appearing from areas outside of the fissure.
It's like they respawn the moment they're cut down.
| ← Ch. 333 | Ch. 335 → |