“The main force has begun to move. Commencing operation.”
“Ooh!”
In various parts of the desert town Cutlass, the Cruz responded with shouts to the Dark Elf’s words, their faces hidden by hoods.
The ‘Dark Elves’ in this town are divided into two types.
One consists of those born in this town or elsewhere, whose mentality is not much different from that of Forest Elves. The others are from the Evil Race Nation, considering it their homeland. Even if they leave the country, they take pride in being ‘Evil Race’ citizens.
In the past, the Dark Elves were branded as “evil” by the ‘Holy Church’ that came to the Searth Continent, persecuted, and driven out of their rich lands. To never forget that history, the Dark Elves themselves adopted the derogatory term ‘Evil Race,’ repeatedly clashing with nations and their people who believed in the teachings of the Holy Church, considering them enemies.
Most Evil Race citizens are soldiers of the Evil Race Army even when outside the country. If they don’t want to be, they have no choice but to hide or become refugees, like some others. Even if they move to this town, make human friends, share drinks, and laugh together, they will still wield a blade at the command of the Evil Race Nation.
The Cruz of the Leesan Syndicate didn’t understand this.
The Leesan Syndicate’s goal was to seize the town’s interests, bringing in the Evil Race as mercenaries to weaken the power of other factions. They believed that there were no humans, even Evil Race, who wouldn’t move for money, failing to understand the true nature of the Evil Race.
The Evil Race Army’s goal is to make this town a military base for the invasion of the Calfaan Empire.
To that end, they formed a superficial agreement with the Leesan Syndicate, using them to blockade the town. The Evil Race gave the Leesan Syndicate Evil Race equipment and forces, inciting them to attack the bases of the other three factions and the town, claiming it was necessary for their goals.
(Foolish lot…)
One Dark Elf sneered, watching the smoke rising from the town in the distance.
The Dark Elves in the town were leading the attacks, but several Evil Race soldiers were mixed in, acting as liaisons with the Leesan Syndicate. One of them, Ghiba, was a Rank 3 Magician. He was stationed at one of the main streets in the wall surrounding the town, attacking caravans and residents trying to escape with the Leesan Syndicate members.
But that was only until the main force of the Evil Race Army arrived. Ghiba’s role was to secure the street for the main force to enter the town. The Leesan Syndicate seemed to believe that the Evil Race Army would eliminate the town’s hostile forces, but in reality, once the main force arrived, the armed Leesan Syndicate, like the other factions, would become unnecessary.
“Hey, you think we’ll let you escape?”
“P, please stop–”
The Leesan Syndicate men attacked the caravan trying to escape, and the blood of the slain Adventurer guard splattered, soaking into the parched earth.
The reason for blockading the town was to prevent information from reaching the Calfaan Empire.
Even if it was to be used as a forward base, there was a risk of retaliation if the Calfaan Empire found out before their forces were ready. The merchants and Adventurers were also from the Calfaan Empire, and as the Evil Race Army, they couldn’t let them escape.
The Leesan Syndicate was also proactively looting since it would enrich their own pockets. Moreover, the Leesan Syndicate, which controlled the red-light district, was not satisfied with just that, and began to scout for young women with good looks and abduct them.
The residents who lived in the harsh desert were not incapable of fighting, but they were no match for fully armed Rank 2 and 3 warriors. The residents trying to escape from the town were deprived of their private property and families, and those who resisted were mercilessly killed.
“P, please spare my child’s life…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong, boss!”
A young mother begged for mercy, clutching her crying baby. Young people could be used as labor slaves, but babies were a nuisance. When the Leesan Syndicate man asked Ghiba for instructions, he looked down on the mother and child with annoyance and spat out cold words.
“They’re in the way. Kill anyone who can’t work.”
“Heh, that’s how it is. Bad luck.”
“N, no way…”
The mother despaired, and the man raised his cutlass.
It was unthinkable for an army, but those present were the men of the Leesan Syndicate, who were worse than backwater mercenaries. Ghiba had no mercy for those who would die anyway and had no interest in anything else.
“Hurry up and get rid of that brat–”
But at that moment–
“Hey, what’s that?”
Someone’s voice leaked out.
The sun shining on the desert distorted the atmosphere, and a single shadow raced through the hazy desert.
How fast would one have to run to make it so? The cloak wrapped around it fluttered like the wings of a mythical bird, and for a moment, they doubted their own eyes at the surreal sight that was approaching them in an instant.
The stunned men returned to their senses at the sensation of sweat flowing down their foreheads. But the shadow, which had already approached, had already slashed the neck of one of the men with a black blade before he could even ready his spear.
“…Huh?”
Most couldn’t even make such a sound.
Most of them couldn’t instantly understand the sight of a large amount of blood gushing out from their companion whose neck had suddenly been cut. Only those who barely understood that ‘they couldn’t understand’ let out a voice, and by the time they understood that it was an ‘enemy,’ the five men on the outer perimeter had collapsed, scattering blood as they followed after the spear user.
“It’s an enemy!!”
Ghiba, who was the first to regain his senses, shouted in a slightly flipped voice.
The Leesan Syndicate men hurriedly readied their weapons. Ghiba also began chanting a fire magic spell that he was good at, but before it could be activated, the enemy cut into the men with terrifying speed.
“–!?”
Swift! The speed was so great that it felt as if even space was distorted.
The large, fluttering cloak, which seemed unsuitable for battle, concealed its figure, arousing an instinctive fear as to whether the “enemy” was truly human.
“Guh!?”
If you falter, your feet stop, and your movements become sluggish. What is swung there is a black blade. Each time the jet-black flash of the sword danced, the men who were about to ready their weapons were pierced through the eyes or between the eyebrows, their throats were slashed, and they scattered their lives into a sea of blood in an instant.
“Yaaaaaaah!!”
“Die!! Flame Javelin–!”
The men, who had finally regained their senses, swung their axes and thrust out their spears. A Flame Spear was released as if to engulf even those men, and it was thought that even if the “enemy” was inhuman, their life would surely be extinguished.
“–!”
But the “enemy,” with a moment’s judgment, danced in the air as if stepping over the spear, and a shield of light deflected the Flame Spear. Not only that, but as the sound of wind cutting through the air rang around the “enemy,” the men around them had their skulls crushed, their throats pierced, and their carotid arteries torn apart, sinking into a sea of blood in the blink of an eye.
“Gah…”
A throwing knife pierced the space between Ghiba’s eyebrows, who had stopped moving for a moment at the surreal sight. The brilliance of the “pinkish-blonde hair” that he saw for a moment in the vision that was being enveloped in darkness was forever burned into Ghiba’s vision until his life disappeared.
Only a dozen seconds–the girl, who had annihilated the Dark Elves and the Leesan Syndicate in that amount of time since appearing, retrieved the knife from between Ghiba’s eyebrows and turned around towards the people who were speechless and stunned by the sight, without changing her expression.
“The Evil Race Army is coming. Whether you run or return… how you ‘live’ is up to you.”
The town was enveloped in an eerie atmosphere. At that time, the Evil Race and the Leesan Syndicate that I saw in the town had finally begun to move.
The residents who have lived in this desert are not weak either. However, the Evil Race were attacking the bases of each faction that controlled the residents, and setting fire to the town to further exacerbate the chaos.
Even if the stone buildings were set on fire, they would not collapse, but the town used a large amount of cloth and grass fibers as doors and sunshades. The burning of these caused people to fear the fire, and taking advantage of the chaos, those involved in each faction were attacked.
“…………”
There is little I can do in this chaos. War is not something that can be stopped by an individual, nor is it something to be stopped.
Just–
“You’re in the way.”
“Gah!?”
While running through the street, I lightly clacked my heels and kicked the face of a man who seemed to be a member of the Leesan Syndicate who was attacking the residents with the blade of my heel that popped out.
“Y, you are–”
I smashed the skull of the Dark Elf who was nearby and turned around with a ball-shaped pendulum.
Why would I let you guys get away with this?
Avoiding the people running around, I dashed across the stalls that weren’t yet ablaze, attacking the Leesan Syndicate men I encountered with both general-purpose and slashing-style pendulums. One of the men noticed me on top of a stall and aimed his spear, but I snagged the tip with the hem of my cloak and thrust the stolen spear into his heart.
I don’t have a Spear Skill, but with Martial Arts and other close-combat Skills, it’s not like I can’t use it at all. However, I don’t know if I’ll be able to resupply weapons from here on out, so I finished off enemies with weapons I stole from them whenever possible.
I leaped from stall roof to stall roof, throwing stolen daggers and spears. Using a bow and arrow I picked up along the way, I shot an arrow through the head of a Dark Elf who was chanting Magic across the street.
I was attacked several times myself, but I haven’t sustained any injuries that require using 【Heal】 or 【Cure】 yet, and I arrived at one of my destinations.
A small shop deep in an alley. In this situation, they were likely either holed up or had fled, but I pushed aside the cloth serving as a door and entered. Inside, a Cruz old man, who seemed to be the shopkeeper, with a pure white beard, was puffing smoke from what looked like a pipe.
“…Are you here to shop at a time like this? Or are you a looter?”
“You’re opening your shop at a time like this too, huh? I heard a Dark Elf named Camille ordered a Fire Magic Stone. Has he been here?”
My cloak is stained with blood and soot from the battles so far, so it’s no wonder I’m mistaken for a looter. Still, when I mentioned Camille’s name, the old man raised an eyebrow slightly while shaking his pipe.
“…Are you with that boy, missy? Sorry, but I haven’t seen him in the last few days. If you’re not a customer, can you leave? …If you’re a woman, you should run.”
“And you’re not running?”
“The Dark Elves and the Leesan Syndicate are up to something, right? An old man like me doesn’t think about trying to live by running away now.”
“I see…”
I can’t tell someone who’s already resigned themselves to run.
This is such a world. If there’s no freedom to live, then at least the freedom to die shouldn’t be taken away.
His dignity is inviolable. So, as I was about to leave after bowing my head slowly, the old man stopped me for some reason.
“Wait, missy. Take this with you.”
“This…”
What the old man handed me was a large Magic Stone wrapped in oil paper.
“That boy ordered it. You need it, right? It’ll only be taken by those guys if it’s left in the shop anyway. Don’t worry, I’ve already received the money.”
After saying that much, the old man stopped talking and suddenly looked straight into my eyes under the hood.
“…Missy. You’re not from this town, are you? You might want to do something knowing that this town is being attacked by dangerous people, but you don’t have to think about that. This town is our town. We who were born in this town and will die in this town are already prepared. Missy, don’t worry about us and do as you please. Isn’t there something more important than worrying about this town?”
“…………”
What did the old man see in me to say such things…?
What’s important to me? I don’t know right now, but still, I’m grateful for his kindness, and after bowing my head deeply once more, I left the shop.
Camille wasn’t here. If I check the other place I have in mind and he’s not there either, then I won’t be able to find him anymore.
Should I keep looking for Camille at all costs, or should I give up to some extent and return to Elena-san and the others? I wonder if the reason I wish we could all survive, including Camille, is because I’ve developed a sense of camaraderie with them.
What’s important? Not the priorities as an Adventurer, but what is my true “Desire” as “me”…?
I started running through the town again, telling the people I passed that the Evil Race Army was coming, and headed to my last destination. It’s probably a dangerous place now. Passing through the burning town, I headed there, and that place, the Adventurer’s Guild, was being attacked by the Leesan Syndicate and was on fire.
The Guild, lacking its main fighting force, couldn’t hold out, huh? I saw the Dark Elves and Cruz surrounding the Guild and instantly switched to combat mode.
“――【Illusion】――”
『――!?』
The flames burning in the Adventurer’s Guild swelled up all at once, engulfing the attackers.
The Leesan Syndicate men, the attackers, were confused and fled in panic from the illusion that even made them feel the heat, and at the same time, I jumped in and killed the men who had become defenseless. Suddenly, real flames, not an illusion, engulfed me along with the surviving Cruz.
“――【Magic Shield (Shield)】――!”
I dodged the flames by sacrificing 【Magic Shield (Shield)】 and my cloak on the spur of the moment, and from beyond my vanished illusion, a Dark Elf stepped forward.
“…A Mersenian woman. Are you an Adventurer too?”
The Dark Elf youth looked to be in his twenties. But the black armor he wore and his presence were different from the Dark Elves I had seen so far.
“…Are you from the Evil Race Army?”
“Ho… You seem different from the other Adventurers. All the skilled ones were lured outside, and I was disappointed that there was no challenge… This could be a good fight.”
The youth stepped forward empty-handed, and a strong Mana welled up in both his arms as he wore a fearless smile.
【Evil Race Soldier】【Race: Dark Elf ♂】【Rank 4】
【Mana Capacity: 261/315】【HP: 215/215】
【Overall Combat Strength: 1108 (Magic Attack Power: 1330)】
A Rank 4 Magician… Moreover, this presence is the same as Carla-san and Samantha-san, a “Magician” who has mastered Martial Arts that allows them to use Magic even in close combat.
He’s probably a supervisor dispatched from the Evil Race Army to monitor the Dark Elves in this town.
Perhaps he’s so confident in himself that he burned his allies, the Leesan Syndicate, to death, found enjoyment in the battle, and showed no sign of retreating after seeing my Combat Strength.
“…………”
“Aren’t you coming? I’ll teach you that Combat Strength isn’t everything in battle. My name is Groll. Let me see that power of yours!”
Gooooooooh!!
The Evil Race soldier youth, Groll, unleashed 【Dragon Breath】 without even using activation words, dyeing the surroundings crimson. That won’t increase the power, but he’s probably confident that a Rank 4 Magic can still inflict a fatal wound.
“――【Magic Shield (Shield)】――”
I had sensed it from the color of the Mana Particles and the amount of Mana, so I used 【Magic Shield (Shield)】 to deflect it while using Martial Arts to evade.
“You can use that “Shield”!”
Despite having his Magic evaded, Groll raised a voice that was almost of joy. 【Magic Shield (Shield)】 is a Magic that my Evil Race master was taught by his master, and knowing that means he’s a fairly high-ranking member of the Evil Race Army—I guessed that he was the commander of the attack on this town.
While evading, I threw a charred dagger I had picked up at the youth. But the youth deliberately deflected it with his iron armor, closed the distance, and unleashed a kick, which collided with my kick.
“You’re good! Then how about this!”
At that moment, nearly ten 【Fire Arrows】 appeared around him again without incantation, and were fired the moment they appeared.
This time, I didn’t use a Shield either, and evaded using only Martial Arts and obstacles. I was grazed a little, but it wasn’t a major damage.
“Are you planning to do this alone? You came here on the orders of the Evil Race, right?”
“We Evil Race respect the strong. Other small fries are just a hindrance. Do you think there’s anything more important than fighting you in this place?”
“…I see.”
Is this what it means to have nothing important?
Everyone lives with Desires. Others can’t measure that value, but even so, there are things that must be protected at a minimum.
Wishes and Desires are similar, but fundamentally different. Groll prioritized his own Desire to fight a strong enemy over fulfilling the Desires of the Evil Race and the Evil Race Army to which he belonged.
But what’s the meaning of that Desire?
What’s at the end of that Desire?
I have protected Elena-san and repelled everything that harms her. To that end, I sought strength and even threw myself into battles that could have been avoided.
I was scared. That Elena-san would be hurt because I was weak.
But that could protect her body, but it couldn’t protect her heart.
While thinking I was protecting her heart, I wasn’t protecting her Desire.
Seeing Groll, who sought battle while talking about his pride as an Evil Race, but didn’t have pride as a member of the Evil Race, I felt like I understood a little of what that old man was saying.
What’s important… has been decided from the beginning.
“Now, show me your power! You seem to be good at evading, but can you dodge this!”
Groll grinned and released a huge amount of Mana from the Magic Stone.
“——【Flare Brid】——”
Groll used the activation words for the first time, and at that moment, nearly a hundred small fireballs filled the space around me.
“You can’t evade this with your illusions! It’s a shame, but this is the end!”
The young man raised his arm and swung it down with an affected gesture.
You should just shut your mouth already…
“——【Shadow Walker】——”
“——Gah…”
The fireballs fired all at once scorched the earth, and I pierced Groll’s heart from behind as he was wide open in his certainty of victory.
“…Why…”
Carelessness, overconfidence… The heroines I knew would never do something like that.
The young man looked at me with eyes that couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and collapsed. I coldly looked down at him, and gave him my last words.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I remembered something important.”
——I will never let them die.
With a new Desire in her heart, how will Aria face what’s to come?
Next time: Fulfilling a Desire…