Avangarde Royal Capital
The sight of a human upper body fused with the back of a wolf reminded me of Kashiram’s passive cavalry. Its blue body, enveloped in blue flames, flickered like a ghost. It wasn’t just the full power of the leader of the Comet Wolf Brigade; something was assisting it. And now, here stood the Comet Wolf Brigade itself, the very thieves who had challenged us to this final battle.
“I’ll finish this in one blow.”
Lua unleashed the Sonic Ripper!
Though it seemed to lack a physical form, I knew I could defeat it. My strike, faster than anyone else’s, pierced through its ghostly body, tearing it apart. It vanished without a trace, leaving nothing behind. Yes, this is how it ends.
Lua dealt 8,295,455 damage to Comet Wolf Vattel! Comet Wolf Vattel has been defeated! HP 0/391,870
“What… what?!”
Eeks, who had been so eager, lowered his sword in disbelief. He probably wouldn’t have been able to defeat it with a normal attack. Thanks to the Power of Destruction, I could obliterate anything, regardless of what it was. Even Elmera’s Imagination Magic was no match for it. Such things were trivial.
“Oh dear, I haven’t done anything at all. Right?”
“Even if you say that…”
“Come on, you did great! Wave to everyone. Smile, smile!”
“Ugh!”
I felt my cheeks being pinched, forcing a smile onto my face. One of my hands was taken, and I was made to wave awkwardly. Even after all this, the others still stood there, mouths agape.
“Did we actually defeat it?”
“Seems like it.”
Eeks sheathed his sword with an exasperated look. All the thieves here had been defeated. What remained were the trampled and the wounded. I’ve started to realize lately that defeating an irritating opponent doesn’t bring any relief. Even if I win, the people who suffered won’t come back, and the sadness and wounds won’t disappear. It’s just a fleeting sense of security.
Even if I had killed Tiferia, whom I believed to be my enemy, I doubt I would have felt any better. That’s why, after every battle, I always let out a sigh. Finally, it’s over. That’s why I can’t genuinely rejoice in my victory.
“I can’t believe I took it down in one hit. I couldn’t do that.”
“That’s because I struck first; it was merciless.”
“Just think about it.”
A cold sweat spread across my back. I was certain of our victory, and I had indeed destroyed it. Yet, a voice I never expected to hear again echoed nearby.
“I was the one who struck first, you know.”
I quickly recognized the voice; it belonged to a soldier behind me. But his eyes were vacant, and his mouth wasn’t moving. The voice was coming from within him.
“Oh no, what have I done…”
“You’re worse than the rumors say. But you know, how many years do you think I’ve been a thief?”
With a dull thud, the soldier’s knees buckled, and he collapsed. Blue flames erupted from his mouth, taking the form of wolves—one, two, three, countless numbers. Like a fountain, they leaped into the air, landing on rooftops or blending in with the soldiers.
“W-wait, we didn’t actually defeat it!”
“Even the Flash Strike Girl can’t take it down!”
As panic spread among everyone, the pack of wolves remained poised to attack.
“When did they get inside that person’s body…?”
“Who knows? A thief can’t afford to be careless.”
I couldn’t tell which wolf was speaking; in fact, they all were. Every single one moved its mouth in unison.
“If even the Flash Strike Girl can’t defeat them… what are we supposed to do?”
“I should have just followed Vattel!”
“How about we start a revolution? With us!”
This was bad; the Power of Plunder was manifesting again. Most people had already dropped their weapons and raised their hands. Ai and the others were trembling, but they seemed to have lost the will to fight. Mai, holding Mi close, was barely managing to keep her distance from the wolves.
“I’ll take care of these scoundrels! Greyman will finish them off!”
Greyman’s Axle Swing! Unable to deal damage to Comet Wolf Vattel!
The wolves didn’t even laugh at Greyman’s attack, which passed right through their blue flame bodies. But then, something was off with Greyman. His hand, which held a luxurious and flashy sword, became wrinkled, and the heavy armor he wore shrank around him. Before he could even cry out in pain, the weight of the armor pinned him down.
“What’s happening?!”
“I’m at my limit! Someone do something!”
In the midst of the chaos, Kurinka attempted to lift the armor off Greyman and cast a healing spell. His emaciated body slowly regained some firmness, but it would take time to restore him fully. I couldn’t let those wolves run rampant; I had to team up with Eeks and Tiferia to take them all down.
“Soldiers of Avangarde, flee! That thing has no physical form! A half-hearted attack won’t work!”
“Flee? Do you think we can escape?!”
Lua’s attack! Dealt 7,201,122 damage to Comet Wolf Vattel! Comet Wolf Vattel has been defeated! HP 0/4,221
“Run without worry.”
Seeing me take one down seemed to reassure them, and after a gasp, they began to flee. I had no idea how many wolves were left, but I couldn’t let them touch anyone. When Greyman attacked, he hadn’t directly touched them, but even his weapon had been absorbed like that.
Looking closely, I noticed the color and luster of the weapons and armor he wore had faded, making them look cheap. Vattel didn’t just absorb human things; with the Divine Nature of Plunder, he could truly take anything. And on top of that, he had dodged my initial strike with cunning. And there were so many of them.
“We don’t have time to think! Given his nature, he’ll target the weak first! We need to take them down!”
Eeks unleashed Storm Edge! Dealt 5,019 damage to Comet Wolf Vattel! Comet Wolf Vattel has been defeated! HP 0/4,221
“That won’t kill them instantly. Then there’s only one option left.”
Tiferia unleashed Sharp Edge! Dealt 7,825 damage to Comet Wolf Vattel! Comet Wolf Vattel has been defeated! HP 0/4,221
While Eeks unleashed a flurry of slashes like a tornado, Tiferia didn’t even show her strikes, simply slicing through the wolf with a graceful curve, showcasing only the result. She smiled at Eeks, and I silently prayed they wouldn’t start fighting.
But Eeks merely clicked his tongue and continued to take down the wolves one after another. Even a single wolf was too much for a group of soldiers, yet he dispatched them effortlessly. Tiferia even posed elegantly while fighting; I could only marvel at these two.
“Seriously, how many of these things are there?!”
“Oh! They split again!”
The blue wolves multiplied like droplets of water bouncing off the ground. Even when they shrank, their movements remained unchanged, and their strength was irrelevant. Anything they touched would be absorbed, making their smaller size an advantage. The little wolves scattered like spiderlings, targeting the fleeing soldiers.
“Lua-chan!”
Kurinka cast Speed Force! Lua’s speed increased!
“Thank you! Please do the same for Eeks and Tiferia!”
“Got it!”
My body felt lighter, as if I could go anywhere. I focused all my senses, determined not to let a single split wolf escape. One by one, I took them down, and their numbers began to dwindle.
“Hah! You think you can confuse us with this?!”
Eeks unleashed Dark Flasher! Dealt 3,920 damage to Comet Wolf Vattel and the others! Comet Wolf Vattel and the others have been defeated! HP 0/532
As expected, the smaller ones were easier to defeat than the larger ones. I had become faster, but it didn’t matter against this group. One by one, their numbers dwindled until only one remained.
Lua’s attack! Dealt 6,201,203 damage to Comet Wolf Vattel! Comet Wolf Vattel has been defeated! HP 0/532
I was sure I hadn’t let a single one escape. With the last wolf defeated, silence finally fell.
“Phew… If they had shrunk any smaller, it would have been tough.”
“Not really.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“It was tough; I’m completely exhausted… I wonder how Ritta is doing?”
Eeks, sulking, and Tiferia, as theatrical as ever. Everyone was still fleeing, but was that okay? I didn’t even know where they were supposed to run to, and I thought Eeks was being quite reckless. But knowing they would target the weak made it easier for us to read the wolves’ movements; I had to give credit where it was due.
“The Comet Wolf Brigade has been annihilated. I’ll leave the reports and such to Tiferia. We have a mountain of tasks ahead of us…”
“Yeah, the town got pretty wrecked, huh?”
“Right? The damage here is massive too.”
“Well, it can’t be helped. We did our best after all.”
“Wait, who is Eeks talking to? No, who exactly… Hold on.”
“Hey? Isn’t this definitely our victory?”
That voice, one I never wanted to hear again. The voice I thought I would never have to listen to again. Just when I thought it was over, it echoed from ahead.
“Rua…chan…”
It came from Kurinka. That little wolf peeked out from behind her, and as soon as she spotted me, she quickly ducked back out of sight.
“Hey, Kurinka.”
“Thanks for being so focused over there. Because of that, you guys didn’t notice us at all.”
Kurinka’s eyes were brimming with tears as her skin began to wrinkle slightly. Vattel had snuck up on us and targeted Kurinka. I wondered when it had started; during the Speed Force, everything had seemed fine.
“Vattel! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“What do you think? You know, right?”
“If you don’t let her go, I’ll kill you!”
“You can’t do that. That’s called a bluff, you know? Your pathetic threats won’t work on us. After all, your precious girl is in this state.”
“Vattel…!”
I couldn’t bring myself to strike. Now it was my turn to grit my teeth. Even if I clenched my fists until they bled, it would only please Vattel.
“Listen, if you think you can use that girl as a hostage, you’re mistaken. If you kill her, you’ll be finished in that instant.”
“Maybe. But if this kid dies, what do you think will happen to the Flash Strike Girl? Will she go on a rampage and kill us? Not a chance. We know exactly how important this kid is to the Flash Strike Girl.”
“Let Kurinka go!”
“Those who lose something precious usually crumble, you know? The Kingdom of Amur was quite entertaining; this pretty much settles everything. They foolishly threw down their weapons, but then they killed. And well, out of ten, maybe three came at us in a rage.”
I grabbed Kurinka’s shoulder and shouted at Vattel inside. But doing this only made it seem like I was blaming Kurinka. Vattel remained unfazed. My eyes were starting to burn, and my breath was becoming labored.
“Kurinka…”
“I’m fine… I’m not just someone who gets protected by Rua-chan…”
I held her tightly, desperately wishing she could feel my presence. Strongly, just purely.
“The Kingdom of Amur is far superior in terms of military strength. No matter how many surprise attacks we launch like this, they can quickly recover due to their organization. I see now; it makes sense why thieves would have a chance…”
“Eeks, this isn’t the time for compliments. We need to think about how to deal with that beast.”
Tiferia was also seriously considering the situation. I was too, thinking about how to save Kurinka. Even while holding her, that was all I could think about.
“Normally, strong individuals don’t have partners or anything like that. Because that would only create weaknesses. That’s why they can be easily exploited by guys like us and fall so quickly, you know? A thief can’t operate without being shrewd.”
Right now, it was Kurinka, not my insults. I couldn’t just shove my hand into my mouth; I didn’t even understand the situation.
“So, no matter how strong she is, the Flash Strike Girl was never our enemy from the start. She should have just held hands and adventured happily. Once the heart of the Flash Strike Girl is broken, this country will fall apart easily.”
“…Kurinka. You hang in there too.”
Did Kurinka understand the meaning behind my words? She nodded faintly. I, too, wasn’t entirely sure what I was trying to do. But this was a gamble, one of the things I had been contemplating for a while. That was…
“I’ll do my best too! So, Power of Regeneration!”
“…Huh?”
I didn’t need to explain it in words; it was understood. While holding Kurinka, I unleashed the Power of Destruction. In that instant, everything around us turned white. Even Vattel’s foolish voice seemed to be swallowed up by it.
◆ Shin Report ◆
Huh?
Let’s do it again.