◆ In Front of the Ruined Fortress, Back Entrance ◆
“Here we go, bang bang!”
The dry sound of gunfire echoed twice. Formas, without a hint of hesitation, shot iron balls into the foreheads of the two guards watching the back entrance. Now, the guards lay sprawled on the ground like discarded dolls. Even so, just before being shot, they had attempted to conjure something resembling a sword of flames, so they had reacted slightly to Formas’s ambush.
This guy, Formas, easily took their lives. Even though they were members of a criminal gang, I had never seen someone take another’s life so casually before. It reminded me of that scene, the one where that person was pierced against the backdrop of the blazing Ikana—
“What’s with that face? You’re not seriously going to say killing them was overdoing it, are you? Let me tell you, if we had been even a second late, it would have been bad news. I was just faster, that’s all.”
I couldn’t let Formas run wild on his own. I pushed him aside with one hand and opened the weathered door to the back entrance.
◆ Inside the Ruined Fortress, First Floor ◆
The moment I opened the door, I was greeted by about seven members of the Comet Wolf Brigade waiting in a long stone corridor. Just as they were about to unleash a torrential downpour of magic at me, I sprinted forward with all my might, knocking each of them out cold. I wasn’t sure how fast I was, but I was confident that I could run without being recognized by ordinary opponents. Roel had told me that the speed of sound and light was quite fast, but I wasn’t sure if it was that fast.
I thought I had hit them lightly, but I was worried for a moment when one of them slammed face-first into the stone floor with a loud thud. However, given that the hostages were in danger, I couldn’t afford to worry about that. All I could do was silently pray that they weren’t dead. Thankfully, it seemed there wasn’t much blood, so I hoped they would be okay.
“Seriously…”
Formas, who entered after me, was left speechless at the sight of the unconscious brigade members. It hadn’t been more than a few seconds since he arrived, so his astonishment was understandable. If they took too long to regain consciousness, it would be troublesome.
The inside of the fortress was surprisingly spacious compared to how it looked from the outside. Even just this corridor had several doors and three branching paths. Somewhere in here, there must be the hostages or the leader of the group.
Gilbert had said that they should be gathered in one of the rooms. But Barm pointed out that it was also possible the leader was gathering the hostages to himself.
“Well, we can just make one of these guys spill the beans.”
With that, Formas kicked one of the unconscious men to wake him up and pressed his sword against the man’s throat. I wondered why he was using a sword instead of a gun. As if reading my mind, Barm kindly explained that the enemy might not recognize it as a weapon like a gun. The man seemed to grasp his situation instantly and didn’t scream.
“Listen up. You’re only allowed to answer my questions. If you say anything else, I’ll slice your throat. You have two seconds of silence; if you go over, I’ll slice your throat. If I judge your words to be lies, I’ll slice your throat. Choose your words carefully. Got it?”
“Y-yes, I understand.”
“Good. Where are the hostages and your boss?”
“They’re on the third floor with Grabe.”
“How many of you are there in total?”
“Counting the ones here and Grabe, there are thirty-two of us…”
“How many of your comrades are on the second floor?”
“I don’t think there are any…”
“You don’t think? Just say it.”
“I-I don’t think there are any.”
“I’ve heard that Grabe uses some strange power. What is it?”
“Th-that is…”
The sword didn’t pierce the throat of the hesitating man. I had grabbed Formas’s hand that held the sword beforehand. Perhaps because he had learned of my strength during the first trial, Formas clicked his tongue and showed signs of giving up.
“If you don’t kill this guy, you’ll definitely be attacked from behind. Besides, the others will wake up sooner or later.”
“I anticipated this, so I prepared something.”
Bebe, who had sluggishly emerged, held several silver ropes in both hands.
“This is a sturdy rope used for transporting goods, strong enough that it can’t be cut by a sword. However, among us merchants, it’s mainly valued for self-defense. Like this…”
With a whip-like crack, Bebe struck the rope against the stone floor. Despite not using much force, the floor chipped as pieces flew.
“With this, it doesn’t look like a weapon, so it won’t raise any alarms, making it easier to catch them off guard. Hehehe… Oh, you don’t have to pay for this. It’s all about helping each other out. Hehehehe…”
Saying that, Bebe skillfully tied up the seven members. They ended up rolling on the floor, bound tightly like caterpillars. I thought it was a bit excessive, considering they wouldn’t be able to scratch any itches, but perhaps that was an unnecessary worry.
“You said there’s no one on the second floor. However, there’s a possibility you’re lying. Even if there were, it wouldn’t be hard for me to kill them with my gun, but I have limited bullets. Rua, I’m leaving it to you.”
There was no way I was going to take orders like that. I had planned to do it anyway, but I didn’t care about the limited bullets. I wanted to shout at him to fight with a sword instead. But if I made noise, the other members would notice, putting the hostages in danger. Even now, every second felt precious.
“Oh, you’re really eager, huh?”
Formas teased me with a light tone as I silently began to walk. Roel hurriedly followed behind me. Considering what I had done to Roel, I wanted to punch Formas right then and there.
“If the enemies are on the third floor, don’t you think they’ve already noticed us sneaking in through the back entrance? The fact that they sent seven to the first floor is proof enough. Hehehe…”
I was jolted awake by Formas’s carefree tone. That was the worst-case scenario; if that were true, the hostages were in real danger. But did Formas know that and still boldly enter through the back? We were at fault for chasing after him without thinking, but he was more malicious than I had anticipated.
This wasn’t the time to be dawdling; I had to hurry up the stairs. However, the interior of the fortress was quite complex. From where I stood, I could see three branching paths. There was no time to wander around here.
“Hmm, we don’t have time. How about we have this gentleman guide us? The risk of being discovered by the enemy is high while we wander through this convoluted fortress.”
Formas clicked his tongue at Bebe’s suggestion as he fiddled with his black beard. Bebe casually suggested something I hadn’t thought of. It was nice to see that he seemed like a decent person.
“Huh? What if he breaks free and goes on a rampage? What will you do then?”
“We can just tie his hands and make him walk. Besides, Rua here will stop him before he can resist. You saw her skills, didn’t you?”
“That’s what he said. Hey, Rua, do it.”
Formas ordered me in a tone that implied I had a significant responsibility. I wanted to click my tongue in annoyance. I untied the ropes as instructed and tried to bind his hands behind his back. But I didn’t know how to tie them properly. I worried that he might start thrashing around while I was hesitating, but surprisingly, he remained quite calm.
While I was stuck in indecision, Barm stepped in from the side and helped me out, showing me how to do it in a very clear manner. I seemed to struggle with such detailed tasks. Back when I was in Queemil, I had left all the household chores to Roel, and I had been scolded for not doing anything, to the point where she puffed up her cheeks in frustration.
Thus, with his hands tied behind his back, the man became our guide. Perhaps Formas’s threat of slicing his throat if he lied was effective, as he silently led us to the stairs to the second floor.
“Hey, move it!”
“Heh, you guys seem pretty skilled, but you’ll never beat Grabe…”
“So tell me what that strange power of his is. Unless you want to be killed.”
“I can’t say that. It’s a secret among comrades, especially the custom magic of the higher-ups. If I spill it, I’ll be executed without exception… Sharing my hand would be the same as revealing my weakness.”
“I see. So why are you guys doing this? Even a kid would understand that if the kingdom got serious, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“This is Grabe’s order. He’s extremely lazy, so he just waits for the enemy to bring the bait to him while threatening them.”
“And what if the kingdom abandons the hostages?”
“I never thought a human would come here.”
“Not really.”
“Take this!”
As I listened to the exchange between Formas and the members of the Comet Wolf Brigade, I found myself grappling with a fundamental misunderstanding. I couldn’t quite grasp it, so I decided to boldly ask a question.
“Hey, why is the Comet Wolf Brigade doing this?”
“The collapse of the absolute monarchy! Revolution! This isn’t a country ruled by a bunch of incompetent scum! We will create a nation for ourselves, by ourselves! How about that? It’s practically a declaration of war against the world! Hahaha!”
His loud laughter was so overwhelming that I had to cover my mouth with my hand. Perhaps I squeezed too hard, as he started to genuinely struggle, and it was Gilbert and Barm who intervened to stop me. That was close; if I miscalculated even a little, it could have ended badly.
“Ha… ha… this brat…”
“Hey, are we there yet?”
“This is it. Behind this door are Grabe and the hostages. It’s a pity for the hostages, being used as shields; they can’t do anything about it.”
That was indeed frightening. The challenge lay in how to free the hostages without them being harmed; it was a matter of split-second timing. No one complained as I placed my hand on the door. Formas even encouraged me in a hushed voice.
“Alright, here I go!”
Taking a deep breath, I focused on the door. I couldn’t let even one person die; everyone had to make it out safely. I repeated that to myself and forcefully pushed the door open.
◆ Ruined Fortress, 3rd Floor, Former Command Room ◆
The door was already on the verge of breaking, and as I opened it, it shattered completely. My eyes fell upon more than twenty men and women, presumably from the Comet Wolf Brigade, and in the far corner, a group of a hundred hostages huddled together.
Without hesitation, I grabbed the head of the group watching over the hostages and threw them one by one. They didn’t even have time to draw their weapons; they were tossed into the air, landing against the wall on the opposite side.
A dull scream echoed, but I turned my back to the hostages and faced the one who seemed to be Grabe. Perhaps I could have thrown him too, just like the others. But there was something about Grabe that made me hesitate.
“W-What the… my comrades are just flying off… Who is this girl?”
It took a few seconds for the hostages to finally register what was happening. For the moment, they were safe from any immediate threat. The real problem was Grabe, who merely turned his head towards me, showing no real surprise, almost as if moving was too much of a hassle.
That made sense; the fattest person I had ever seen was Pablo, the owner of Zenbei, but Grabe was on a whole different level. His body was at least three times wider than mine, and his white cloth outfit was stretched to its limits. His round, sagging body seemed to swallow his head, making it hard to tell where his neck began. He wiped the sweat from his face repeatedly with the fabric, squinting at me.
“Hey, what’s going on? Did all the minions on the first floor get taken out? You’re quite the kid; I’m intrigued~”
The reason I hesitated to throw him was simple: I didn’t want to touch him. I remembered my mother telling me never to judge people by their appearance. I loved my mother and wanted to follow her advice, but with him, it seemed impossible. He was scratching himself all over.
Soon after, Formas and the others entered, but their momentum came to a halt as they saw Grabe. Roel and the other girls visibly pinched their noses. Yeah, there was definitely an indescribable, sour smell in the air.
“Y-You’re Grabe? I am Gilbert of the Royal Knights. It seems the hostages are unharmed…”
“Don’t tell me to surrender! I’ve heard that a million times, and no one ever surrenders! So, Gilbert, right? Come over here and let’s have a one-on-one duel. If you win, I’ll surrender.”
“Really? Then—”
“Gilbert, don’t get any closer!”
Barm shouted as Gilbert took a step, then another, towards Grabe. Perhaps it was too late; on his fourth step, Gilbert suddenly collapsed to his knees. He struggled to rise, hands pressed against the stone floor, but it was as if something was pinning him down.
“Ugh, w-what… my body… feels heavy…”
“Hehe, so close! If you had just gotten a little closer, that armored guy would have been flattened!”
Without hesitation, Formas fired a bullet at Grabe. With that massive body, there was no way he could dodge; the bullet flew straight for Grabe’s torso. But just before impact, small rocks appeared around Grabe’s chest, quickly forming a protective barrier. They multiplied and enveloped his giant frame, moving faster than the bullet itself.
The bullet hit the rocky armor and fell uselessly to the ground, not even leaving a scratch. He must have used earth magic. But why was Gilbert still unable to move? He looked like he was in pain, so I had to help him.
“Too bad for you; I have Self Earth. Did you really think you could take me down with that? Not even close.”
“You fat bastard…”
It was true that Grabe had the upper hand here.
“Gilbert, are you alright…?”
As I approached Gilbert, I felt a slight heaviness in my body, as if the floor was trying to pull me down.
“Oh? How are you walking so calmly? You’re really intriguing~”
Normally, I would analyze my opponent’s strength carefully before approaching. But I had fought against stronger opponents in the Abyss Cave more times than I could count. Because of that, I could gauge the strength of the person in front of me. It was hard to put into words, but strong opponents exuded a strange pressure from their entire being. I could sense danger just from their presence.
But from this overly fat guy, I felt nothing. The rocky armor and the pulling force were trivial matters to me.
“Get out of the way, you brat! Brikna, Tatarka! Follow me!”
Perhaps he was furious at being mocked; Formas charged at Grabe, flanked by Brikna and Tatarka. The three of them moved to the left, forming a triangular formation with Formas at the front. Grabe merely turned his head, looking at them with annoyance.
I couldn’t afford to think about how that wooden crate he was sitting on hadn’t broken yet. My instincts were screaming that this was dangerous.
“Rua and Roel, and the rest of you too. Stay back; that pig is ours to deal with!”
There was no way they would listen to me if I told them to stop, and they had already begun their attack.