At the Foot of the Fourest Mountains – Hideout
“Hah… hah…”
“Kurinka Onee-chan!”
“Just a little more… just a little…”
Yes, just a little more until Rutna-chan’s soul and body become one. The Power of Regeneration—though I don’t fully understand it myself—this is a force completely opposite to mine. Destruction doesn’t just obliterate everything; it can even shatter concepts, just like when Elmera-chan’s Imagination Magic failed to take effect. But this power is about regeneration, restoring things to their rightful form. If something has been broken, it can be returned to its state before the destruction. If the body has become more like a monster at the cellular level, it can revert to being human. If the soul has separated from the body, it can be brought back.
“Rutna… just a little more.”
Rash-kun, holding Rutna-chan’s hands with both of his, watches with bated breath. The soul and body are already close to merging; now it’s all up to this child’s will. A will strong enough to want to live again. Just like with the Ghost Ship, once something is truly dead, it can only be returned to where it belongs. I don’t have the power to resurrect something that is completely dead, but if it’s not, then it’s a different story. However, no matter how much I restore the form, if the person doesn’t have the will, they won’t awaken.
“You promised, right? That I’d teach you magic… then you’d definitely be popular.”
“That’s not it… you need to express your feelings more honestly…”
Hiding behind embarrassment and saying things that aren’t true won’t work; Rutna-chan wants that too. She’s still a child, and such things can be embarrassing, but as a senior, I understand well. Even though I fell in love with Lua-chan, a girl just like me, I can now clearly say it out loud. I love Lua-chan.
“Honesty is…”
“Don’t worry, I won’t laugh, and Rutna-chan won’t get hurt… I promise… ugh…”
“Kurinka Onee-chan…!”
“Hurry…”
Using too much magic makes my consciousness fade. I won’t die from this, but if I lose consciousness here, Rutna-chan won’t be saved. That’s why the final push is crucial. Rash-kun has to give that push.
“My… my honest feelings are…”
“It’s not embarrassing… it’s okay…”
He knows what to say; he just needs to take a deep breath and look at Rutna-chan again before inhaling deeply.
“I… I…”
With his cheeks flushed and tears welling in his eyes, he tightly shuts them. Then, with determination, he opens them, and Rash-kun takes another deep breath.
“I… I like Rutnaaaaaaa!”
At the same moment he shouted that, my magic abruptly cut off, and the light I had released vanished. All I could do as I collapsed was watch.
“Rutna…”
Rutna-chan doesn’t open her eyes. Despair and helplessness wash over me, threatening to drown me in a torrent of sorrow.
“I told you I love you! Why aren’t you waking up?! If you’re not dead, you should be able to get up!”
Rash-kun and I, on the verge of tears, can do nothing. We can’t even save one girl. Just as Lord Hast said, this is the punishment for doing what we shouldn’t have. Just as Lord Daigami said, it’s because we defied the Divine Being.
“Rutnaaa… I don’t want this, I don’t want this!”
I grasp Rutna-chan’s hand, which Rash-kun is holding. I quickly realize something strange.
“Rutna…”
“Stop sniffling…”
Yes, her hand was warm.
“Eh…”
“Good morning…”
Her fingertips twitched, and she grasped Rash-kun’s hand in return. Her voice was weak, but it sounded strong.
“Did… did you come back to life? Really?!”
“Maybe…”
Tears streamed down Rash-kun’s face like a dam bursting, and he sniffled. I was crying too. It wasn’t because my actions had been rewarded or because I could prove my power. It was because I had desperately reached out and made contact.
“No way… no way…”
“A boy shouldn’t be sniffling…”
“I’m so glad! I was really worried about what to do! It was so painful not being able to do anything! I’m sorry…!”
I had no certainty, but if Rash-kun hadn’t been there, we would have failed. I didn’t understand the reasoning behind it, but I believed my feelings had reached her. In fact, that was the only reasoning I needed. Here, in this moment, two lives had been saved.
“Can you stand? No, you should probably rest a bit longer.”
“I’m fine. Hmm, it feels strange to have my body back. It feels a bit heavy. More importantly, how long are you going to hold my hand?”
“Ah! I-I’m sorry!”
Even though happiness had arrived, I couldn’t feel at ease. After all, we couldn’t just rest like this.
“Hey hey hey hey, this is fun!”
An evil presence loomed nearby, standing against the cave wall as if it were just here for a visit. From this situation, it was clear that Lord Hast and Seigel weren’t safe outside. With me barely able to move, no one could defeat this person.
Even if I were in perfect condition, it would still be difficult. I didn’t need an introduction; I had been with Lua-chan long enough to recognize the terrifying opponent before me. The strength was Calamity Class, and I could see Rash-kun’s face pale, which had just been wet with tears of joy. An opponent he couldn’t defeat was right in front of him. I hadn’t been calm during the Lesser Than incident due to Rutna-chan’s situation, but now I could clearly judge the danger.
“Second Evil Prince Brandark has come here, hasn’t he? The ones outside are all dead, right? Hey, boy, you’re too scared, aren’t you?”
“Y-You killed Lord Hast and the others?”
“They’re not moving at all, are they?”
The moment I heard that, I summoned every ounce of strength to stand. I braced myself, ready to shield Rash-kun and Rutna-chan from Brandark.
“You’re staggering. You think you can battle me in that state?”
“I won’t lose…!”
“Well, let’s talk. Either way, there’s no chance of winning here, right? And I was just told to bring you back. So I’ll let the others go.”
“Y-You want to take me back?”
“If you obey quietly, I won’t do anything.”
In the fading consciousness, I contemplated. Should I obey, or should I trust first? One thing was clear: resisting here would lead to certain defeat. Even in perfect condition, it would be dubious; Brandark was strong. In other words, my options were practically nonexistent.
“I will… obey.”
As my consciousness finally faded, the last thing I saw was Brandark’s smirk.
Ruins of Karein’s Mansion
The healing power from Lord Daigami flowed from his nose into Karein. While all her wounds healed, her lost leg would not grow back. Even Lord Daigami couldn’t regenerate that; this was as far as his power could reach.
“It seems Kurinka’s power is needed to erase the evil cells.”
“I’ll go fetch her. If Lord Daigami uses Clairvoyance, we’ll know Kurinka’s location, right?”
“She doesn’t seem to be nearby. It looks like she’s having quite a bit of trouble.”
“I see…”
Should we wait for Kurinka, or should we go defeat the remaining Evil Nobility, Glare? After all that chaos, Vandalsia must have realized we were here. Yet, strangely, nothing came; it was almost anticlimactic.
“Karein, just a little longer.”
“Even if I’m healed, my heart belongs to that person…”
“That’s fine. If you do anything again, I will stop you. No matter how many times it takes.”
“…Why go that far?”
“Because I don’t want you to die.”
Not as a guardian deity, but purely because I felt that way, I was healing her. Karein was putting on a brave face, but if she truly still loved Vandalsia, she would be resisting. I understood well that simply showing her the difference in power wouldn’t suffice. The fact that she was slumped against Lord Daigami meant she was probably conflicted.
“Even if I survive, the Azuma people I knew are nowhere to be found. Hundreds of years have left me behind.”
“Then let me be your memory.”
“What…?”
“You don’t need your heart here; I am here.”
With those few words, a single tear finally fell from Karein’s eye. Even if her body had become a monster, Karein still had a heart. I understood that.
“Exploiting human weaknesses to control hearts… the name of the King of Destruction is broader than I thought.”
He destroys even human hearts, no, he makes them vanish. The people of the Royal Capital, of course, Hatra, Karein, and those affected by Vandalsia. Even if we defeat Vandalsia, I can’t restore what has been broken. Kurinka can’t heal hearts either. Vandalsia destroys everything. The worst Calamity; I finally understood its meaning.
“…Hmm. It seems the Evil Nobility has been approaching here for a while. The remaining monsters are likely their guards.”
“Eh?! W-Why didn’t you say that sooner?!”
“We can’t just defeat them. It seems we’ve gotten ourselves into a troublesome situation.”
“What do you mean?”
At that moment, something definitely flew down from the sky. Riding atop a dragon-like monster adorned with white feathers was a blonde girl. She had the gray skin characteristic of the evil nobility, and her hair was styled in two spiraled buns on either side of her head. It was quite an impressive hairstyle, with her hair twisted like a tornado.
With a very short skirt that fluttered above her knees, the evil noble girl dismounted from the bird-dragon. Flanking her were what might be Lord Daigami’s guards.
“Wow! I can’t believe Aunt Karein is actually losing!”
“It seems that Hatra and Goto have also been killed by those humans.”
“Do you need something?”
Lord Daigami responded coldly, unfazed by the noisy evil noble girl. Perhaps irritated by his attitude, the guard monster slightly shifted into an attack stance. This was definitely the vampire that had been at Hatra’s mansion. Would it become a guard now?
“Do you need something?” she exclaimed. “You’re cute, but it’s infuriating!”
“We feel the same way. However, the opponent is Azuma’s guardian deity; they are not someone we can defeat.”
“That’s precisely why I came to deliver Lord Vandalsia’s message.”
Although she had shown a hint of anger earlier, she remained remarkably calm. I was impressed that a monster with intelligence could make such judgments. Yet, that evil noble girl was stamping her feet like a child. In fact, she was shorter than me and looked quite childish. And with such a short skirt, I wondered if she wasn’t embarrassed at all.
“I am asking if you need something.”
“This is Lady Nerva, the daughter of the First Evil Consort Grea of the Nation of Vandalsia. We have no intention of causing trouble with you at this time.”
“Indeed, we would be troubled if you continued to wreak havoc in the Royal Capital. Therefore, I have prepared a special stage for you.”
“Does it have something to do with that Coliseum?”
“You are quite perceptive.”
Lord Daigami used Clairvoyance to survey the entire Royal Capital. He must have grasped a considerable amount of information. That’s why he said it had become troublesome. I had a bad feeling about this.
“From now on, you will come to the Coliseum. You will fight there.”
“It seems we have no right to refuse. Many humans are already taken hostage.”
“That is correct.”
“L-Lord Daigami! Is that true?!”
“It seems everything was settled while we were distracted by Karein. If we had executed this plan from the start, my Clairvoyance would have captured everything. They must have anticipated that.”
If it was going to come to this, we should have evacuated the people of the Royal Capital. No, that was impossible. They already hated us; there was no way we could let everyone escape. But, if only Lord Daigami’s Divine Concealment could have worked…
“Lord Daigami, Divine Concealment—!”
“I will comply.”
“A wise decision.”
“Lord Daigami?!”
Just as I was about to mention Divine Concealment, I was struck by a tail. If it was Divine Concealment, we could rescue the hostages, so why not do it?
“However, we will also take the princess here… Karein. She requires my treatment.”
“Very well. We do not wish for Lady Karein to perish either. Those humans over there should come as well.”
As the vampires explained, Nerva yawned while sitting atop the monster she had arrived on. I couldn’t understand why, if Lord Daigami’s Divine Concealment could save everyone, he wasn’t using it. It didn’t seem like he was in the mood to answer that question.
◆ Avangarde Royal Capital – Coliseum ◆
It had been a while since I had come here, since the Combat Tournament, but the place looked completely different. The circular fighting area was surrounded by bottomless pits, and beyond that were jagged stone walls, quite high at that. The area beyond the walls served as the audience seating, but it was filled with monsters. To my surprise, there were also quite a few humans present.
It was already abnormal for humans to be near monsters, yet no one seemed afraid. On the contrary, they were getting excited together.
“They’re here! The foolish ones who dare to defy Lord Vandalsia!”
“Start it already! Kill them!”
“Who will be the first to be offered up as a blood sacrifice?!”
“Hey! Hurry up and announce the first execution card!”
It was truly terrible. Most of the shouts came from monsters, but humans were joining in as well. They weren’t being coerced; they were completely obedient to Vandalsia, just like the people I had seen in the Royal Capital.
“Ugh, there is not a shred of decency here. Look over there, Rua.”
“Over there… Oh! Vandalsia!”
Sitting arrogantly with his elbows on his knees in the place where the king had once watched was undoubtedly Vandalsia. He looked exactly the same as when we fought in the Abyss Cave, with that gray muscular body and the horns that seemed like accessories. His piercing gaze locked onto me directly. Beside him, Belmund cast a cold, disdainful look my way.
“It’s been a while, little girl. Or was it Rua?”
Even from a considerable distance, his voice echoed around us. In that instant, the previously raucous shouts fell silent. The only sound in the now quiet Coliseum was Elmera’s trembling breath as she crouched down, avoiding eye contact with him.
“I have much to discuss, but for now, let’s enjoy the show.”
“…Is that all?”
It seemed he couldn’t hear my voice. It wasn’t just Vandalsia who was watching me with amusement; the woman sitting next to him was too. With her flamboyant purple lips and feather-like coat, her curvy outfit accentuated her figure. She wore a skirt as short as Nerva’s. Her hair was a mix of gold, purple, and blue, twisted together. Who was she? Could that be Grea?
“Oh, come on! Get on with it already! Don’t drag this out!”
The one shouting was not a spectator but that woman. Her voice was louder than Vandalsia’s, sending shivers through the audience. Following her command, the devilish monsters and humans near the audience seating began to move hastily. I felt like I had seen some of those people before.
“Y-Yes! Um, let’s get started! I will be your host, the Voice Demon, Yakamashi!”
“Um, I’m Shitakka, your commentator…”
“We have arrived! The third public execution Coliseum! What kind of gruesome scene will we witness today? First, let me explain the overview!”
“Wait, wait! What do you mean public execution?!”
Ignoring my voice, the enthusiastic demon continued. Next to the large-mouthed demon sat someone I felt I had seen before.
“In this public execution Coliseum, we will execute the foolish ones who dared to defy the great Lord Vandalsia! The method of execution is simple! The combinations will be decided according to the execution cards we have prepared!”
Even in such a dire situation, Lord Daigami remained seated in silence. I had no idea what he was thinking. My frustration with him was growing. If only we had Divine Concealment, we could save everyone.
“Fine. Do whatever you want with the executions. If you can kill them, then go ahead!”
“Then the first execution card has been decided! The criminal is… former squad leader of the Kingdom of Avangarde, Ritta! The executioner is…”
Huh? What does that mean? I couldn’t grasp the situation at all as the large-mouthed demon continued without acknowledging me.
“The soldiers of the Nation of Vandalsia! Garlyle and his subordinates!”
“Wooooo! Garlyle!”
A few figures walked through the opened iron-barred door. An older man with a proud brown beard and several other men followed him. Garlyle was the one Ritta had mentioned.
“G-Garlyle, the captain of the royal guard… no, Garlyle!”
“Consider it an honor, Ritta. We volunteered to be your executioners. After all, we once served the same lord. It would pain me slightly to see you killed by another monster.”
“Ah, Captain Garlyle, your kindness brings me to tears!”
“Indeed! I have fallen in love with your thoughtfulness for your subordinates!”
“But this is ridiculous! There’s only Ritta on our side, while they have so many!”
The large-mouthed demon sighed mockingly, then took a breath before opening its mouth again.
“That’s because this is an execution! By the way, if you refuse, I don’t think I need to explain what will happen to those humans over there!”
Looking closely at the wall next to where Vandalsia was sitting, I noticed it was a barred cage filled with many people. It was clear they were hostages.
“W-What should we do? Lord Daigami, this is really bad. We have to help them quickly…”
“Ritta, if you are afraid, I will handle it.”
“…I will do it.”
I almost called out to stop her, but Ritta gripped her spear tightly, showing no signs of fear. On the contrary, she was astonishingly calm, performing what looked like warm-up exercises while holding her weapon.
“Ritta… are you really going to do this?”
“If it were the old me, I would have been trembling in fear. But now, I’m surprisingly clear-headed. I think it’s because of you, Rua, and Captain Kirkton… not to mention Irene and Shuri. That’s why I want to settle this on my own terms. I want to decide for myself and bring it to a conclusion. Only then will I be considered an adult.”
Without looking at me, Ritta focused her gaze straight ahead, watching Garlyle and his crude companions laughing lewdly in the distance.
“And don’t worry. For some reason, I just don’t feel like I can lose.”
“Ritta…”
“Now, let the show begin! The first execution card! Executioners Garlyle and his crew will carry out Ritta’s execution!”
With that, the iron-barred door swung open, and Ritta stepped forward, showing no signs of fear against Garlyle and his gang, who seemed like they were waiting for prey.
“Heh heh heh, I can’t believe you’re actually coming at us instead of running away. Do you really want to avenge Kirkton that badly? Did you perhaps find comfort in that man’s arms?”
Ignoring Garlyle’s taunts as if they were nothing, Ritta calmly readied her spear.
“Execution begins!”
At the same moment as the booming voice of the large demon, Garlyle and his crew charged at Ritta all at once. They believed this battle would be decided in an instant, at least Garlyle and his gang thought so.
“Hey!”
“Whoa!”
One by one, the swords and spears of Garlyle’s underlings were deflected with a metallic clang. The weapons that were sent flying clattered lightly against the cold stone floor of the arena.
“W-What the…?”
“We’re serious here.”
That spear must be quite heavy, yet Ritta spun it effortlessly with one hand.
“I’ve trained seriously. Unlike you all, who didn’t truly care about protecting the kingdom… or the Emperor.”
“W-What are you doing! Hurry up and pick up your weapons!”
“There’s no way I can lose.”
A flustered Garlyle spat as he scolded his subordinates. Ritta laughed at him. It felt like I was witnessing Ritta smile in battle for the first time.
◆ Shin Report ◆
Remaining: 4 enemies
The target is unscathed.
You can tell just by looking at that relaxed face.
The guardian spirit has properly protected the princess.
The guardian spirit, the fox, understands this.
Rua is still a child, so it can’t be helped.
But this damn execution is a warning.
That bandit won’t end things here.
They’re bound to do something even more ruthless.
Still, Ritta has become too strong.
I’m a bit concerned about her level.