IN a good mood after breakfast, Takuto sat on the stone dais he'd taken a liking to recently and addressed Atou, who was waiting on him.
"All right, now that breakfast is out of the way, why don't we call Elder Moltar and the others in to discuss what our surroundings are like? We've already collected most of the intel on this area, so once things settle down a bit, I plan to switch the Scouts to Patrol Mode. I'm not interested in raiding another nation, and I want to hear what the others have to say on that too."
"Patrol Mode…to guard against any activity in the nearby human town, right? Never hurts to be cautious. Actually, I believe we should pay extra close attention to their movement, my King."
"Need to be cautious of the Holy Kingdom of Qualia, right?
That's not their town outside, is it?"
"No, it's not. It seems to belong to a neutral nation located to the far east of this forest. It's a mystery why they'd build a town so far from the rest of their territory, but the real problem is the location. They'll likely be first to notice us."
The first Long-legged Bug they created had done an outstanding job scouting, despite its disturbing appearance. The Accursed Lands, whose depth and scale were unknown, had already completely dispelled the fog of war in Takuto's mind, and their reconnaissance now extended to the outer edge of the forest. What was discovered in the process was a human town.
The Dark Elves didn't know about it either, and it seemed to be a relatively new town, but its proximity was a problem. For Takuto and Atou, who prioritized stealth, this town posed the greatest risk of discovery.
"But it's a little reassuring to know there are a lot of neutral nations on this continent. We can only hope they're open to reason. That town concerns me, but I think we should leave it be for now."
"It's fortunate most of the people living in the vicinity are too afraid to come near this forest… I'll order the Long-legged Bugs to continue stealthily collecting intel."
Takuto nodded, giving his consent.
"On the other hand, if anyone dares come near this forest while we're expending this much effort to stay hidden, it'll mean they have reason to…"
"That's likely."
"Well, it doesn't seem like anyone has caught onto us yet, and it's unlikely for people to suddenly come for the Dark Elves after several months of nothing. I think we'll be fine after all!"
Takuto slapped the side of his stone throne and cheerfully sought Atou's agreement. Delighted to see her king in such high spirits, she giggled and teasingly countered his comment.
"Oh, don't say that, King Takuto! You're just asking for something bad to happen now! Don't jinx us!"
"We're in real trouble if joking around jinxes us. You're such a worrywart, Atou. Ahaha…"
The laughter died on Takuto's lips, his cheerful expression vanishing instantly.
"…Hm? Is something the matter?"
"It seems I really jinxed us."
All signs of amusement disappeared from Takuto's face, replaced by a bone-chilling expression.
"An armed group is heading toward this forest."
Information on the armed group came to him with urgency from a Long-legged Bug. With what he said to Atou in mind, silent anger ignited within Takuto.
If their Dark Elf subjects saw them now, they'd only be able to cower and bow their heads in fear.
They just wanted to live in peace and quiet. Conflict was the last thing they wanted.
But there wasn't a rule in place that guaranteed someone's safety, just because they were a pacifist.
Cloying darkness and jet-black malice rife with evil surged within them.
Mynoghra's first encounter with the forces of good was about to begin.
<-x-X-x->
THE Accursed Land Reconnaissance Team had made the long trek from the Holy Kingdom of Qualia to their destination, despite Barbarian attacks along the way.
"You can see it now—the Cursed Sea of Trees that keeps anything alive from gettin' into the Accursed Lands. Let's start investigating this area, since it's the closest to Qualia."
"That's the start of the Accursed Lands, eh?"
A dark, menacing forest suddenly came into view just as Captain Bargo pointed it out.
According to the map Lonius had checked, the vast forest making up this part of the Accursed Lands was too large for them to investigate in a timely manner with limited manpower. But they could run a simple preliminary survey. Then, if they spotted anything out of the ordinary, they could come back with a bigger team.
That's what the Paladins were dispatched for and how Lonius interpreted their mission.
It should've been easy enough to complete.
But something felt off…
At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a huge forest, but it gave the impression that it contained hordes of spine-chilling monsters.
Lonius stared into the fathomless depths of the forest as a creeping sensation stirred in his gut.
◇◇◇
"HALT!"
The reconnaissance team stopped at Paladin Verdel's command. The Cursed Sea of Trees was right before their eyes, and they were in the process of discussing when and where to begin their investigation. Everyone who'd been searching for the best entry point turned their attention toward Verdel.
Was something there?
As soon as they realized Verdel's gaze was fixed on something in the forest, the rest looked in the same direction.
Then they saw a figure quietly heading their way.
"What?"
It was a teenage girl. She had eerily white skin and wavy, ashen hair. She wore tattered linen clothes. Her crimson eyes were strikingly inhuman, which only added to the otherworldly impression she gave off, coming from the cursed forest.
Anyone living in Mynoghra would've immediately identified her as the King of Ruin Takuto Ira's confidant and the strongest Hero, Atou.
Naturally, no one here knew of her.
"What do you think she is, Lonius?"
"Likely one of the Dark Elves you conjectured would be here, Sir Verdel. I'm surprised a girl like her was able to traverse the harsh
Dark Continent, but she must've been one of the lucky survivors."
"Hmph. Lucky survivor…my ass," Verdel cursed, eyeing her with palpable suspicion.
Verdel was in charge of this mission. Lonius and the mercenary corps decided to leave everything to him, since they didn't know what to do.
Verdel closely assessed the girl with his arms crossed. He waited until she had come closer to finally question her in a loud voice.
"You there! Girl! Who the hell are you? We've got business with this forest. What're you doing coming out of the Accursed Lands?!"
"…Oh. I see you are Paladins from Qualia. I am one of the Dark
Elves who fled to this forest. What brings you all the way out here?"
Her response was normal by all accounts. Her lyrical voice was more charming than the impression her appearance gave, and that discrepancy roused further suspicion in Verdel.
"I can't answer that—it's classified. Answer my question, girl.
Why did you come out of that forest?"
Verdel calmly repeated his question. His word choice was the same as usual, but his typical lazy rudeness took a backseat to the razor-sharp aura he let off now.
"…We had nowhere left to go after we were chased from our homeland. This land may be cursed, but it is the last place we can live in peace as no one comes here."
"Deliberately choosing to live in a cursed land is creepy, to say the least… Well, not that it matters. As you said, we're Paladins hailing from Qualia. We've got business with this forest. May we come in?"
"You mustn't. Please do not set foot in this forest, Sir Paladin."
"We are here on a mission from God, girl. I can't approve of you refusing—"
"Hey, I'm doing the talking! Keep quiet, Lonius!"
"…Forgive me, Sir Verdel."
Lonius gasped and jumped at Verdel's stern rebuke.
I am indeed guilty of interrupting their conversation, but did he really need to reprimand me that harshly?
Lonius decided to watch how things played out between the two, while secretly vowing to report the other man's every unholy act in detail to Central later.
The girl glanced at Lonius, then the mercenaries. Crimson eyes scanned their faces with an eldritch gaze.
Was she really a Dark Elf?
She remained silent as everyone under her gaze doubted her race. After a long pause with Lonius saying nothing, the girl returned her gaze to Verdel and continued the conversation dispassionatly.
"You will frighten the other Dark Elves who escaped with me. We've only recently gained a place to rest in peace after a long and painful journey. Please, I beg you to grant us this mercy…"
"We've got a job to do. I'd love to turn around and leave, but I can't without orders from above…"
"I ask that you please make an exception and refrain from entering this forest."
The girl was polite and paid them every courtesy. If you turned a blind eye to the various oddities, her entreaty was normal enough.
But every foot of this cursed forest belonged to the Accursed Lands, and the girl in front of them clearly didn't belong there. It wouldn't be wrong to assume something was hidden where she refused to let them go.
Something to do with the apocalypse-bringer Saint Soalina prophesized about.
"What's in that forest?"
"Nothing but peace and quiet. Nothing here is a threat to you.
Why are you so obsessed with this tiny, gloomy forest?"
"Tch! We've received a prophecy that an apocalypse-bringer will come from here. We can't just go home empty-handed…"
"S-Sir Verdel! This is a top-secret mission! Why did you tell this
Dark Elf of the prophecy?!"
"Shut up! I told you to stay bloody quiet, Lonius! Sometimes you just have to divulge a secret!"
Lonius held his tongue after being yelled at yet again.
Verdel had just disclosed one of the kingdom's confidential secrets to an unauthorized individual. And not just any individual, but a Dark Elf suspected of starting an evil cult.
That was a crime worthy of being tried for treason under normal circumstances, and yet he'd divulged that information in hopes of breaking the negotiation deadlock.
In fact, surprise showed for the first time on the girl's cold features, and she held her hand to her mouth.
"A prophecy…you say? You're concerned about that potential apocalypse-bringer coming from here, yes? Please rest assured no one in this land wishes your people any harm, Sir Paladin."
"How can you prove that to me?"
"I'm afraid you will have to take my word for it."
"Can you let us into the forest? Just a bit? That'll convince us."
"Please stay out here."
"Is there a chance this apocalypse-bringer will bring disaster to our kingdom or its people?"
"None whatsoever. Rather, it's we who are afraid of you."
"You're a smooth talker for a kid. You're used to negotiating and sound awfully confident."
"I repeat: we wish you no harm." They were going in circles.
She entreated them to leave for the sake of peace without revealing her identity. Everyone present already figured out she was no ordinary Dark Elf girl. No. They'd realized she wasn't even a Dark
Elf.
The more they talked, the more uneasy they felt about her. And they couldn't ignore the ominous evil presence in the air.
They had no way of knowing why this girl, who exuded the aura of a devil in the flesh, refused them entry. She obviously wasn't going to tell them either.
So Verdel decided to ask the final question that'd put an end to this unholy encounter.
"Do you swear to God?"
"I swear to…our God."
The nonhuman girl swore to God.
Verdel had no way of knowing if that was to the God he believed in or to a different entity altogether, but after a moment of silence, he opened his eyes and gave the order.
"We're going home."
"Wha—?!"
Lonius whipped his head toward Verdel—that was the last thing he expected to hear.
They were obviously dealing with an evil being. It was hard to imagine a Paladin—especially a High Paladin—would consider retreating from God's enemy.
How was this any different from succumbing to evil and retreating like a coward?
Even Lonius, who had a reputation for being pious and levelheaded, couldn't keep his temper in check.
"What in blazes are you thinking, Sir Verdel?! That thing is shrouded in a terrifying aura! How can a Paladin such as yourself not sense the evil from it?!"
"Nothin' evil here. I'm goin' home. I accept her desire to live in peace. That's the end of it. Damn, I'm sleepy. And hungry."
Verdel seemed to have already made up his mind as he lazily stretched to loosen his back with the same languid demeanor he'd had before reaching the forest. Obviously, Lonius and the baffled mercenaries weren't convinced.
"Are you letting an evil monster roam free?!" Lonius cried, not letting it drop.
"There's no evil monster. Our investigation has concluded— there's nothing here."
"What if it's pulling the wool over our eyes?! How will you take responsibility if they bring calamity to our kingdom?!"
"Don't let fear cloud your judgment, Lonius. Our doctrine starts with having faith. Reread the scriptures, you pessimist."
Lonius couldn't persuade him. Verdel stood firm in his decision. Lonius had had the displeasure of getting to know his personality during this mission, and he realized he couldn't change his mind with words alone. So, he whipped out the secret weapon he had kept up his sleeve just in case.
"…You have been accused of kidnapping an innocent girl and fornicating with her. Perhaps that evil girl corrupted you?"
Creases formed in Verdel's brow, instantly revealing his anger.
"Are you serious? What kind of a bloody idiot are you? That's clearly a baseless rumor with no evidence. And why bring it up now, of all times? Don't make wild accusations just to make things go your way! I'll pound you into the ground if you keep this shit up!"
Verdel was suspected of committing a crime. Convinced he was guilty by his unholy conduct, crass remarks, and most of all, by how he cowered before evil, Lonius let his own sense of justice guide him to pass judgment on the other man.
"High Paladin Verdel, I regrettably must remove you from this mission for having abandoned your duties. I, Paladin Lonius, shall assume command of the investigation."
"Huh? Quit screwin' around! Is this really the place to lecture someone about gossip and politics? Is this seriously the time to be preachin' about your iron sense of justice? Are you truly incapable of making the simple decision of what you should and shouldn't be doing right now? Don't make a fatal mistake!"
Panic showed on Verdel's face for the first time. His aloof gruffness and air of confidence had been replaced by genuine edginess over the present danger. That change in his attitude only fueled Lonius's poor judgment.
"Paladin Lonius, please don't be so hasty. Conflict produces nothing. We can use our words. Please heed the advice of your superior."
Even the girl watching the power struggle joined Verdel in telling Lonius to stop, adding more fuel to the fire. It was more than enough to ignite the Paladin's wrath and self-righteousness.
"Silence, evil wench!"
Lonius drew his sword and pointed it at her.
The atmosphere instantly became toxic.
The fallout between Verdel and Lonius became real, and the problem that was about to end exploded.
"Hey! Bargo! Mercenaries! Help me stop him!"
"I'm really sorry 'bout this, Pal Verdel. We were hired by Pal Lonius, you see. We can't obey your orders, even if you're higherranked."
"Dammit!"
Verdel was paying the price for leaving the hiring of the mercenaries to Lonius. Feeling wise, Bargo probably felt even stronger about wanting to leave than Verdel.
But mercenaries valued client trust over everything else. Going against their employer would put an end to future work. So Bargo couldn't follow Verdel's orders.
There was no one left who agreed with him. Well, the girl did, but there wasn't much she could do when she was the source of their discord.
"We will deal with Paladin Verdel later. You come first, wench. You're going to tell us every last detail about that ominous aura of yours and why you came out of this cursed forest! We are going to interrogate you back at the capital so you can repent before God!
Men! Seize that wolf in sheep's clothing!"
The girl quietly shook her head, expressing her refusal with a sad expression. Her wishes weren't respected by Lonius. He had no intention of listening to what she had to say.
Captain Bargo looked to Lonius for confirmation to go ahead. His men had their swords drawn and were in position to attack. They may have been staring at what looked like a teenage girl, but it was clear from her aura that she wasn't human.
Resistance would lead to a fight.
Fifty mercenaries against a single girl.
They overwhelmingly had the upper hand. But they were up against an evil being—there was no telling what would happen.
"Go ahead. Do it! Get rough if she resists. Watch yourselves!"
"Hey! STOP! Don't attack someone who isn't resisting!" Verdel thundered.
But there was no one left to follow the man who'd been deprived of his authority by Lonius, and his plea echoed fruitlessly.
The mercenaries surrounded the girl and slowly closed in around her.
And then…
"Haah… Negotiations are a bust, then?" The girl let out a sigh.
"Tch! Damn it!!!"
"What?!"
Lonius couldn't comprehend what just happened. He felt something hard hit him and his vision rolled backward. Only when he saw nothing but the blue sky did he realize he'd been knocked down.
"Lonius! You alive?!"
"Y-Yes…but what was that?"
"You're seriously asking?! You're the one who said it first! It's that evil being you aggravated! You can tell just by freakin' looking at it, you fool! On your feet, now!"
Lonius finally saw the sinister tentacle swishing in the air above him. It was a strange limb with a slippery-smooth surface, ending in a spearlike point.
A single slice marred the skin of one of the tentacles whipping through the air at explosive speed.
Purple ooze dripped from the tip of Verdel's drawn sword.
Verdel had deflected the attack Lonius never even detected.
Realizing he'd been saved from instant death, Lonius quickly rose to his feet.
"Everything was going so perfectly too. But life never goes the way we want it to, does it?"
The girl looked at the ground, let out another annoyed sigh, then turned her head with catlike ease to glare at them.
"Hey! Mercenaries! I don't care who does it! Someone bring this news back home! It's a Witch! A Witch is here!"
"S-Sorry, Pal Verdel… She got our runners."
Bargo's pitiful voice came from behind them.
Verdel looked over his shoulder and saw the messenger pierced straight through, alongside his horse, by a tentacle that'd erupted from the ground below them. The unnamed mercenary violently convulsed and coughed up blood then fell to the ground with a hard thud as the tentacle ripped out of him and retracted underground.
On closer inspection, the wagon horses had suffered the same fate.
The reconnaissance team had brought only the bare minimum number of horses necessary for the trek as they didn't want to deal with the large amounts of water and fodder they required. All of their horses had been wiped out, leaving going on foot as the only option to bring the news back home.
And Verdel doubted the girl would let them flee now. In fact, the tentacles that'd taken out the horses were swaying behind her, as if looking for their next prey.
"Shit! She's got damn near perfect accuracy!"
"Come and play, boys," the girl taunted them in her lyrical voice. "I'm the monster you were looking for. The embodiment of pure evil, you know? The dark being your god hates and you hoped to find is right here."
"S-Sir V-Verdel…"
"Don't wuss out on me, Lonius. We can't get out of this now… Get in position! Don't let your guard down for a second! Fight for your damn life!"
Verdel's motivating speech sparked the will to fight in everyone alive. They understood that if they didn't fight for their lives, they wouldn't live to see tomorrow, and they prepared themselves to go all out.
"Oh, I see you are going to face me, holy men. How can a fool who made an irreparable choice with his unnecessary snooping and warped sense of justice confront this calamity?"
Her linen outfit began to melt off like sap. Sludge bubbled up around her as stagnant malice spilled off her body until it eventually formed a new outfit.
A jet-black dress seeped in darkness itself wrapped around her. Twisted accessories that defied logic. Mousy white hair and nauseating eyes that seemed to personify hell itself. Several more tentacles grew from her back and swayed like snakes ascertaining their prey.
.
----------->
.
Her crimson eyes locked on them and she sneered.
"…Now pray."
"O Lord, our maker! Grant me the strength to stand against evil!"
Verdel and Lonius called their God's miraculous powers into themselves at the same time. The mercenaries nocked arrows into their bows and took aim at her.
A lurid smile lit up the girl's face as she took a step forward.
Sludge Atou, Mynoghra's Hero.
With the King of Ruin's complete trust, she was about to let loose in this world for the first time.
The falling out that came from their sudden encounter and the transition to battle—everything from beginning to end was unexpected and unwanted.
Verdel fixed his gaze on the girl—no, the Witch—who slowly approached as he inwardly cursed the angels of fate, who seemed to hate him.
"Damn it all to hell! Things were goin' so well too! This sucks!"
"I completely agree with you. This isn't what I wanted eith—"
"Fire!"
The archers loosed their arrows per Verdel's order without waiting for the Witch to finish speaking. Over thirty arrows released from bows squeezed with the full strength of their archers flew at the girl.
The tentacles growing from her back smacked every single one out of the air. A delighted smile blossomed on her young face as she reacted to their attack with inhuman speed.
"…Heh, how merciless of you. I really like people like you. I love them to death."
"Dammit! She parried the arrows like they're nothing!"
"S-Sir Verdel… What in the world is a Witch? Are you saying this girl is one?!"
Attacking with arrows was a waste of time. They didn't even distract her, much less hurt her.
Verdel turned his gaze to the flustered Under Paladin, knowing in his gut that normal methods wouldn't work against this opponent. Maybe Lonius drew the wrong conclusion that Witches were just some sort of evil cult or violent Mabeasts from his conversation with Bargo. Or maybe he categorized them as something still Human.
I should've shared more about my concerns and the secrets I was strictly ordered to keep about the crisis Qualia's in. Regretting his choice, Verdel briefly explained about Witches, even though it was too late to be much good now.
"Witches are apocalypse-bringing monsters prophesied by the Saints and acknowledged by the bigwigs. Currently, only two have been confirmed. She's likely the third! Even you should understand how deadly they are if I told you the Northern Disturbance was caused by a single Witch, right?!"
"I-Impossible…"
"..."
Witch—that title described precisely how dangerous the girl was.
The mayhem in the Northern Province had yet to show signs of ceasing—and a single Witch was said to be its cause.
Lonius never expected the world crisis Qualia desperately hid would appear in front of him.
The girl watched them with her ghastly eyes, her tentacles swaying like snakes ready to strike. It was as if she were waiting for them to come at her so she could play with them.
Running wasn't an option.
Even a High Paladin like Verdel could barely counter her attack and the Witch had set her sights on Lonius for that one. Turning their backs to run was an instant death sentence. That much was certain.
"Let's attack her together! Mercenaries, she's too much for you to handle! Switch to support!" Verdel howled, and Lonius drew his sword.
Both Paladins had experience subduing Mabeasts. They undisputedly had the skills to fight against nonhuman threats. They felt no fear, because of the blessings granted by the Holy Sword Artes only Paladins could use. All they had to do was crush their opponent, with their body and soul on the line.
"You're with me, Lonius! URAAAAAAAAH!!"
A loud explosive pop went off under Verdel's feet as he launched into a thunderous sprint. Lonius dashed after him.
The battle with the Apocalypse Witch commenced.
…The mercenaries couldn't see what happened. The fight unfolded at a speed their eyes were incapable of following. They could only see the moment Lonius lunged at the girl, but even that occurred at a logic-defying pace.
Once someone reached the rank of High Paladin, they boasted monstrous strength, said to equal a Lesser Dragon. And when they combined forces with an Under Paladin like Lonius, it could be described as having the strength of a natural disaster.
Yet, for all that, they were up against an anomaly beyond them.
"So slow…and weak."
Even after being on the receiving end of the Paladins' most powerful attack, she looked unfazed. Their swords had been deflected by the girl's tentacles, which had switched to defense mode.
Her defenses surpassed the speed of a High Paladin's attacks, proving their combined strength was still no match for the Witch. Or so it seemed at first—
"No, we might still stand a chance!"
"…Mm?"
A tentacle rolled onto the ground, spraying purple blood everywhere. The two Paladins jumped away in a single leap, retreating to avoid being bathed in its blood.
The girl they called a Witch stared at the flailing tentacle, which seemed to be a separate living creature, and then she brought its remains in front of her face to inspect. She frowned, like this presented a concern as mild as not having the right ingredients for lunch.
"I assume that technique uses a god's blessing to deliver a divine strike, right? It gives you special attack and defense buffs against evil civilizations. This is why I always say good civilizations get unfair advantages."
"I have no idea what you're talking about! But I'm not gonna miss this chance!"
Verdel broke into another thunderous sprint and slashed at her again.
Two shadows moved in unison. Their timing was perfectly synced.
Blood sprayed everywhere yet again.
"Fascinating. You can sever them?"
A second tentacle fell, and still the Paladins kept up their onslaught. Verdel slipped in under the blood spray with beastlike agility to attack from below.
The Witch tried to pierce him with two of her four remaining tentacles.
But her attack that should've brought certain death was easily countered by his unique Sword Arte.
The tentacles lost their speed advantage in close combat. The girl became frustrated by the sword and the blessing imbuing each and every swing with holiness.
"How about this then—Tch!"
A shadow fell over the girl. Instantly realizing she was being attacked from above, she sent her tentacles up without even checking what was there.
The impact and bloody pop came a second later.
Only three tentacles remained. This time, the girl jumped back to gain space.
"Now! Fire!"
"I slightly underestimated you Paladins. You put up a tough fight."
The girl moved her tentacles faster to knock down the arrows, since she had less to use now.
Contrary to their arguments on the way there, the two Paladins fought in perfect unison. Verdel, with his superior strength, dealt relentless strikes, and Lonius slipped in to attack where she was weakest.
The mercenaries stuck to long-range attacks, careful not to get in their way. Everyone believed victory was theirs if they could just destroy her remaining tentacles.
But they were up against an apocalypse-bringer—the very embodiment of bottomless evil.
"Then how about we play it this way?"
"Wha?!"
Seeing they had her at a disadvantage, the Witch changed her tactics and extended her tentacles to the left and right. It was too late by the time Verdel tried to warn the others.
"GUAGH!"
As soon as he heard those guttural groans, the tentacles had coiled around two mercenaries and raised them above the Witch.
"I just love Humans. They are weak, fragile, and make for the perfect shield because they care so much for each other." "…elp…ee…"
"Shh, hush now," the girl giggled.
"GUAAAGHHH!"
The tentacle tips stabbed through their throats. The captured mercenaries shook with the shock, but didn't seem to be dead.
It was a clichéd yet effective tactic.
One so wicked the Paladins never saw it coming.
Anger oozed in uncontrollable red splotches on Verdel's face. His enemy was resorting to despicable means. Don't let your emotions control you! he thought, restraining himself.
She was provoking them. Being blinded by rage would steal their chance at victory.
They shouldn't expect Human ethics from an evil being. They were up against something far beyond their understanding. Case in point, the Witch was swinging the suffering mercenaries over their heads with the glee of a cat playing with a toy.
"You fiend!"
"Lonius! Don't be rash! Control your anger! We've worn our enemy down to the point she had to take hostages! Let's tackle her together!"
"Oooh! You're coming anyways? What about my meat shields? Going to kill them? A wise decision. Mercenaries have little value, after all."
The two mercenary shields immediately died in a splatter of blood. But perhaps, Verdel should be applauded for not faltering in this situation. In fact, their attack not only took out another tentacle, but dealt a blow to her main body as if to make up for killing the hostages.
"Two left… If we chop off just two more of those damn nasty suckers, we win!"
"I'm with you, Sir Verdel."
They'd seen through the Witch's tactics. The end of this fight was right around the corner, and it was about time for the forces of good to lay evil to rest.
A single red slice marred the beautiful white cheek that shouldn't have belonged to something so evil.
The Apocalypse Witch could be killed.
Knowing that gave them a sliver of hope for victory.
"Here we go! Stay on guard!"
The end was nigh. Everything was about to be over.
"I forgot to mention…"
Curiously, the Witch clapped her hands together as if she'd just remembered something. Then, with a carefree smile reminiscent of an angelic little girl, she skewered Verdel in a shower of tentacles, just before his sword could stave in her skull.
"…That simply put, I have the strength of an entire army. In terms of regular soldiers, you need about 5,000 to even put up a decent fight against me. Oh, and I have an endless supply of these." Countless tentacles sprouted from her back.
She'd been toying with them from the start.
Verdel regretted how naïve he was for thinking they could win. Realizing his life was at its end via the handful of tentacles jutting from his stomach, he grabbed one of the feelers in his final moments of struggle and vomited blood.
"R-Run, Lonius…"
"S-Sir Verdel…"
"RUNNNNNNN!"
The girl cocked her head to one side, then impaled his skull.
The High Paladin convulsed once, then fell silent.
.
-------------->
.
The body that fell to the ground with a thud was already an empty husk, emphasizing that his life had been lost for good.
"Okay. It's your turn now, Paladin Lonius. I killed him right away, but regrettably, you won't get the same treatment."
Innumerable tentacles swished around her, as if to plunge him into the despairing knowledge he was next to die. He had no way to win now.
With Verdel gone, Lonius couldn't even cut those tentacles. Despair began to spread through the mercenaries too. They were sure to be next after Lonius was killed.
One of the men who understood that let out a deranged scream. "UWAAAAH! AAAGGGHHH!"
The terrified mercenary threw his bow down and ran for it—only to be effortlessly killed by a tentacle that burst out of the ground. The girl sent a cursory glance his way before returning her attention to Lonius.
Running meant death. Everyone lost hope.
Only Lonius thought her actions strange. Why did she let her focus turn to people who fled? Now that he thought about it, she'd targeted the runners and horses first.
Several small thoughts started coalescing. The moment he found the answer, Lonius shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Spread out in every direction! Someone survive and bring this news back home!"
"You just had to figure it out… Oh well."
The Witch was clearly panicked, informing Lonius his guess was right.
The girl swung down her arm as if sending some kind of signal, and dozens of tentacles pursued the bolters, as he'd feared.
THUD-THUD-KERTHUD!
Tentacles thrust into the ground with the same sharpness and power of an iron spear.
Death cries rose from every direction as the mercenaries ran and got skewered.
Lonius now bet everything on this one moment.
"O Lord our maker! Grant me the strength to stand against evil!"
He brought God's power into himself once more and made another last-ditch run at the Witch.
The girl was so preoccupied finishing off the mercenaries, her guard was down. Lonius managed to deflect the flurry of tentacles that came to intercept him and dove close to her.
It all happened in a heartbeat and the God of victory was on his side.
The remaining tentacles couldn't intercept him in time.
Determined to end it with this single strike and avenge Verdel, Lonius swung his blade.
CLANG!
Metal clashed with metal.
Trembling, Lonius readjusted his grip on the sword he nearly dropped.
"H-How?!"
"You got the drop on me. My compliments."
"How the hell did you—"
"…Did I use a Paladin's sword blessed by god, you ask?"
The Apocalypse Witch had all her tentacles preoccupied and the enemy close enough to fell her—but she'd picked up Verdel's sword and parried Lonius's attack.
Evil beings couldn't use Paladin weapons blessed by God. That was an unchanging fact believed by all in the Holy Kingdom of Qualia.
But Verdel's Paladin sword sat comfortably in the girl's hand, as if mocking his people's beliefs.
Cackling like she enjoyed every moment, the Witch spun the sword in a circle and entered a fighting stance. Her every move perfectly mimicked Paladin Verdel's.
"I took it for myself—that fallen Paladin's Artes. When I killed him, the techniques he honed through tireless practice and training became mine."
Impossible! Lonius was consumed by that thought. Stealing your opponent's abilities was absurd in and of itself, but to even rob them of their Holy Artes?
An evil being was imitating and exploiting their skills. What in the world was just if the power of their one and only God could be so easily defiled?
Lonius could only tremble. He realized the more this Witch killed them, the greater her power became.
"Paladin Verdel was a mighty warrior worthy of being an elite unit. Perhaps he was destined to do great things. Too bad he died due to your imprudence."
Lonius heard the death cries of the mercenaries who failed to escape in time. It was obvious why she left him standing there in a daze while she took care of them.
She was defiling his pride—spreading mud on all his honor as a Paladin.
"His thoughts came to me alongside his Holy Sword Artes. 'What will happen to Lonius if I die here? What'll happen to his family? His wife Marsha? His daughter Mina? Some of the mercenaries have families too. What will happen to them? I can't die. I definitely can't die! Not when there are people waiting for me to come home too!!' He was a very valiant and noble man, wasn't he?"
"Lies! How can you know that?!" Lonius howled, losing all calm.
Those were definitely the names of his beloved wife and daughter. He'd only mentioned them to Verdel once. Just how noble and caring of a man was Verdel? Verdel, who he'd secretly mocked for being too gruff and crude to be a Paladin?
Lonius screamed, half in tears, as he lamented how that valiant man's soul, memories, and noble pride had been robbed and played with by the wicked being smirking in front of him.
"What're you thinking right now? What can you possibly be thinking about the man who had the talent, heart, and nobility to be a High Paladin, when you're so puny and worthless in comparison?"
"Th-The mercenaries who escaped will inform our kingdom of this and bring back the holy forces that will obliterate you… His will shall not perish here!"
Lonius's strategy had half-succeeded. The Witch's tentacles went after the more than thirty mercenaries who fled in every direction, but they couldn't kill them all. He didn't know how many had made it out alive, but some had definitely escaped her reach.
He was convinced they would bring back news of this nightmare.
"Ahh, you mean them? Hey, everyone! How're things on your end?"
"…Huh?"
Her overly cheerful voice caused Lonius's jaw to drop as he sensed he was being surrounded. Over twenty sharp gazes burrowed into him.
Silver hair and distinctly pointed, long ears.
Lonius knew exactly who was watching him with unbridled hatred and rancor.
"D-Dark Elves…" he muttered, dumbfounded.
Atou tilted her head, finding his shock curious. "Oh dear. Did I ever say I was alone? I didn't, did I?" The cackling girl's sadistic eyes took pleasure in the Paladin's shattered morale. "Ah, right! I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce you to my friends. Meet the peace-loving
Dark Elves."
A man who looked to be the strongest among the Dark Elves tossed something at Lonius's feet—something that rolled in front of his boot.
"Bargo…"
The moment his eyes fell on that decapitated head, Lonius realized his strategy had completely failed. The Dark Elf warrior walked over to the girl, kneeled, and quietly spoke to her, as if showing the ultimate respect and decorum reserved for an overwhelmingly powerful being.
"We annihilated every single one, ma'am."
"Thank you. Good work."
What relationship did this girl—this Witch—have with the Dark Elves? Did the Dark Elves create a new evil cult and summon the Witch with some sort of wicked ritual as Verdel feared?
With no way to confirm the truth, the fatal mistake he'd made and its consequences sank Lonius into an abyss of total hopelessness. Verdel, who'd strongly advised him to not be hasty, had died, and the mercenaries he'd entrusted with this news were wiped out.
And now the end had come for him too.
Realizing that all hope was lost, Lonius gripped his sword with quivering hands.
"I apologize for making you wait. Now have at me. I shall fend you off with the sword belonging to the man you disparaged and dismissed."
The way she spun the sword in a circle was undoubtedly Verdel's technique.
<-x-X-x->
◇◇◇
"…LET'S talk about a possible future."
The setting sun set the world ablaze, signaling the battle's end in a red hue. The victor was decided, no miracle had occurred, and the obvious ending had come for Under Paladin Lonius.
"What would've been possible if you'd only listened to poor
Paladin Verdel, who lies dead at your feet."
Atou hung the fatally injured Paladin Lonius upside down with several of her tentacles and offered him these final words. He no longer had strength to resist.
Knocked around by Verdel's Sword Artes within an inch of his life, he'd literally had the will to fight beaten from him and lost all motivation to struggle.
Atou spoke to him quietly. Despite her duty to kill him immediately, the words poured forth, as if this was a point she needed to drill home before offing him.
"If only you'd accepted, even grudgingly, you'd have returned home without incident. You would give your report as usual—well, your assessment wouldn't have been great, but you still would've been on your way back to your loving family in one piece.
"Your beloved wife and daughter would've welcomed you home with open arms. A warm hearth and the smell of stew waiting for you. You would hug them, whisper how much you love and missed them, and offer up thanks to your god for safely finishing your mission and protecting this tranquility.
"…Meanwhile, I would've gotten my own taste of tranquility. I would be relieved you people actually knew how to negotiate, and
I'd fall asleep wishing this peace and quiet lasted forever."
She spoke gently, but her words contained palpable hatred. Silent rage blamed him for not listening, for letting his shortsighted pride run wild.
"Now, let us talk about the future you chose."
Lonius was at death's door. Hemorrhaging from his countless slashes caused his consciousness to fade in and out as he wheezed for air through his lips, his eyes barely open. His soul hadn't departed yet.
"You will soon die. You will suffer miserably then die, leaving only failure in your wake. Since I know your family's names, I should kill them next. I will make Marsha and Mina suffer more than you can possibly imagine before slaughtering them. Oh, your daughter's still just a wee baby, isn't she? Then…I ought to eat her like the monster I am.
"I'm not fond of Human flesh, but you needn't worry about me wasting her. I'll make do by rolling her in a vat of spices, then either grill her little body or boil it."
Atou stared closely at Lonius's face as she eloquently painted his family's fate. She gradually embellished her words, sounding more thrilled by the second, like she genuinely enjoyed the agony, regret, and despair twisting his features.
Atou enjoyed everything about this situation.
"I won't stop there either. Your squad stayed at several Qualian villages on the border connecting the Lawful Continent to the Dark Continent, right? I've no reason or point in doing so, but I might as well kill everyone and raze the villages to the ground when I find them too. Oh, and rejoice! Because if I happen to find anyone with the same name as your daughter or wife, I'll make them suffer a thousand times more."
Lonius shook his head feebly. He squeezed out the last vestige of life in him to protest and beg for mercy.
"I was taught by someone dear to me to always kill the enemy because the moment you go soft on them, it seals your eventual doom. So, I will kill them. I will kill a few dozen, hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands if that's what it takes. I feel sorry for them and really didn't want it to come to this, but I will still kill. All because of your choice."
"D-Don't… I beg of you, please don't!"
She purposely ignored his strangled plea. Just as he'd ignored her desire for peace, she let his entreaty fall on deaf ears as well.
"You were probably a good person. You prayed, devoted yourself to your nation and loved your fellow citizens and your family. What a class act. This is why I despise people who blindly believe justice is always right."
Atou was finally satisfied after imparting those final words that would haunt his very soul. Or perhaps, it was more accurate to say she grew tired of playing with him. But, whatever she thought, it wouldn't change the fact that the life of the man who lived as Paladin Lonius would end here.
"I bid thee farewell, Paladin Lonius. A good and kind man such as yourself will surely go to heaven by God's grace. Please enjoy watching the brutal deaths of your loved ones from your special seat in heaven. Hahaha…ahahahaha!"
The Witch shook with laughter as if hating everything, as if cursing everything with that sound.
Lonius went insane with regret over the irrevocable mistake he made, with the absolute assurance he'd seen through to how wicked of a being this was, and most of all, with absolute and utter despair over the fate awaiting those he loved. "AaaaAAAGGGGGGAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
"HaHAha! AHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"
And thus, the entire Accursed Land Reconnaissance Team perished on the Dark Continent, due to an unforeseen calamity brought upon them by one man's sense of justice and shortsighted pride.
Only silence and the Apocalypse Hero remained.
A refreshing breeze blew, rustling Atou's hair.
For a while, she looked at Paladin Verdel's corpse, as if mourning his loss.
◇◇◇
"MAGNIFICENT work, Lady Atou… Please leave the cleanup to us," one of the Dark Elves said.
Realizing the speaker was Warrior Captain Gia, who'd finished off the mercenaries, Atou responded without looking his way.
"I don't want us to waste time on the dead. I'll help, so let's tidy this up quickly."
There were over fifty corpses. Leaving them might expose the fact a battle had taken place there. They also needed to collect the corpses of the mercenaries slain where they'd managed to escape.
While there was nothing they could do about the blood that had absorbed into the ground, they could at least avoid the danger of the decaying flesh summoning Mabeasts and wild animals to the area.
Remaining hidden was crucial, and being able to strip the bodies of equipment would prove to be a valuable asset to their empire, which was still scarce on supplies. Therefore, corpse disposal proved essential.
Atou summoned forth her tentacles and dexterously collected all the corpses she could see into one location. Gia instructed the Warriors, and the Dark Elves efficiently split up to recover the other bodies.
He spoke to Atou as he watched the Warrior teams run in every direction to fulfill their orders.
"That wasn't the result we wanted, was it, Lady Atou?"
"Sadly, no. They came to investigate some anomaly occurring in this forest. There's a good chance they've caught onto us."
"No! H-How…?"
"I thought things would work out because the Paladin named
Verdel was a reasonable man…"
"It's true we aren't trying to stir up trouble with the other nations. I also expected better results given how far away our territory is from theirs…"
"Well, just goes to show we can never see eye to eye with the forces of good when it comes down to it."
Atou had started their initial interaction disguised as one of the fugitive Dark Elf girls. They went with that tactic to avoid leaking Mynoghra's existence and to see what the other side's objective was.
Takuto's plan was to feel them out through negotiations and if they willingly left, he'd let them go. But, if they didn't, then prioritizing stealth came first—with their lives as the price.
This was the result of opening that can of worms. Maybe there was a better way, but considering what they came for, it likely would've resulted in their deaths anyway.
The fact of the matter was that risking exposure wasn't an option for Mynoghra at this point in the game. Thus, this outcome was inevitable.
Realizing they weren't out of the woods yet, Gia instructed the
Warriors closest to them to expedite their work. Then he glanced at Atou and came right out and asked about what was troubling him.
"Lady Atou, about the threat you made…do you plan to actually go through with it?"
"What threat? Oh! You mean the threat against his wife and daughter? Of course I'm not going to do that."
Gia was flabbergasted by her admission. He'd hidden in the woods quietly listening in to Atou's negotiations with the armed men.
Mynoghra's King Takuto had strictly ordered them not to move until Atou gave the word, so the Dark Elves didn't join in the fight until they received the signal to eliminate the fleeing mercenaries.
So Gia had watched the whole scene unfold, and Atou's comments had chilled even his evil heart. Her threat was just a bluff? And her attitude seemed to imply, "Why did you take my joke at face value?" Gia passed the point of exasperation and went straight to being dumbfounded.
"I simply said mean things because I wanted to see what kind of expression that Paladin would make. I'm a pacifist who adores peace. I could never commit such atrocities…"
Gia couldn't help but feel chilled to the bone by the girl's bell-like laughter. Although he was frightened by her during their first encounter, he felt some humanity from her during their interactions. She had a slight airheaded side and became depressed whenever the King scolded her, making her seem like a real teenager.
Gia suddenly and strongly recognized his impression of Atou was absolutely wrong and that the being in front of him was evil taken to a whole other dimension.
That being said, it didn't make him sympathize with the slain Paladins. If Atou hadn't killed them, it would have been the Dark Elves who lay dead this day.
The Holy Kingdom of Qualia's interrogations were brutal and rumored to show evil no mercy. It didn't take a genius to know what actions those who worshipped law and order would take if they learned of Mynoghra's existence.
Letting down their guard to show pity to the enemy the moment they'd finally obtained a peaceful life was the height of absurdity.
Gia hadn't forgotten the merciless way they had treated his clan. He could determine who came first between his beloved clansmen and strangers without ever needing to put their lives on the scale.
"Okay, enough chitchat! Let's finish this up fast. I have much to directly report to His Majesty."
"Hm? Is something troubling you?"
Gia was baffled by Atou's urgency when the present danger had passed. He didn't see anything immediately worrying, but it seemed things were heading in an unexpected direction without his knowledge.
"Yes, I was able to pilfer some information when I defeated the enemy. Things are heading in a bad direction."
Paladin Verdel's dying wishes flowed into Atou when she killed him. The majority was useless information concerning his comrades, but the Northern Province Disturbance was enough to pique her interest.
The beings called Witches especially drew her attention.
Continent destroying power on par with the Saints who belonged to the Holy Kingdom of Qualia and the El-Nah Alliance of Elementals.
They had fortunately yet to run into any of them, but if Atou's hunch was right, then these Witches possessed Hero unit strength.
Mynoghra still lacked national power and military might. And the power of Hero units, their only advantage, would be less effective if their opponent had the same or superior levels of strength.
They needed to come up with countermeasures and future policies quick.
Gia also sensed the impending danger from Atou and silently nodded. Her concerns were national ones, which in turn threatened the well-being of all the citizens.
He signaled the Warriors with his hand to move faster and joined in the corpse disposal himself.
The world was about to change forever.
-x-X-x-
"WITCHES, huh? They never came up in Eternal Nations."
"No, they didn't, King Takuto. This encounter reaffirms my belief that this isn't the world of Eternal Nations. Parts of the game system may have carried over, but we should view the mechanics as being completely different."
Takuto and Atou had gathered lots of information since arriving in this new world. From it, they drew the conclusion this world was different from Eternal Nations. They based their conclusion on what they'd learned about the surrounding empires.
Neither the Holy Kingdom of Qualia nor the El-Nah Alliance of Elementals existed in Eternal Nations. Additionally, both empires became powerful with the help of units called Saints. This was news to Takuto and Atou.
One night, they caught hold of the legend-loving Emle and listened to all sorts of stories from morning until night. Every legend and folktale, including the stories about the Saints, differed from what they knew about Eternal Nations, shocking them both.
Various other factors also proved this world ran by separate rules.
Makes me think of all the isekai stories I've read… Takuto recalled the fantasy genre that'd spiked in popularity during his last lifetime.
"Your opinion didn't change even after you parsed the memories you took from that Paladin, right?"
"Yes. I could only see the parts he felt strongly about before death, but I was able to grasp a certain extent of it. It seems the two empires lived in relative peace without engaging in any large-scale conflicts until recently. I couldn't confirm the existence of any strong commanders, but if I was to grade them in terms of player levels, both would be absolute noobs."
"The Northern Disturbance is the real concern, right?"
Atou had the unique skill of claiming a defeated unit's abilities as her own. This also gave her the ability to view what her victim felt about the strongest at death—something she didn't know was possible until coming to this world.
This mechanic, which was never a part of the game, was both convenient and anxiety-inducing. It proved their knowledge of the game and its rules might not apply to this world, potentially shattering any bearing the game settings might have.
Takuto had this niggling feeling the world was telling him this was reality, not a game, but he ignored it and turned his attention toward other things. He preferred to think about Qualia's Northern Disturbance and the Witches said to be causing it. Those two things should be given priority.
How will this uncertain event affect our country? And if Qualia should fall, isn't it our turn next? And before that happens, is there really no chance Qualia won't set its sights on us when their scouts don't come back?
Various concerns flooded Takuto's thoughts and jumbled together.
"We're fortunate Qualia's military is preoccupied fending off the mayhem in their Northern Province," Atou said. "It lessens the chances of them sending a large army this far south."
"They only sent two black sheep Paladins to investigate with the hopes of snuffing them out if there really was something here…huh?"
"I would say so…"
"It's crippling when you have just as many enemies on the inside, isn't it?"
The information Paladin Verdel had was quite useful, albeit scarce.
It turned out that because their empire had a provincial system, there was fierce competition between provinces, and they constantly tried to outshine each other. Furthermore, they had a slow decisionmaking process brought about by the complicated political systems often found in bloated governments.
The Saint's prophecy predicted an omen of apocalypse in the Accursed Lands. Still, Qualia didn't want to take it seriously because if they actually confirmed it was true, the nation would fall into chaos trying to handle it. Hence they carried out the investigation in secret.
I don't know who made that decision, but it was criminally stupid.
Takuto was exasperated by the flaws in their organizational system, but he shook his head, realizing it must have been unavoidable in order to maintain such a huge empire.
"We are all united by our loyalty to you, King Takuto. You needn't worry about similar problems arising in our empire."
"Thanks."
It was also true that the existence of the Witches and the other problems Qualia had put Mynoghra in a favorable position. By devoting its manpower to the Northern Province turmoil, Qualia gave Mynoghra more time to grow.
Perhaps they should be grateful for that.
It was disturbing that the other good civilization, the El-Nah Alliance of Elementals, was keeping quiet, but at least their unwillingness to move unless moved against also worked in Takuto's favor.
He had a lot of concerns for the future, but Takuto felt it was better to have killed the reconnaissance team than to allow them safe passage after botched peace negotiations.
The longer they stayed hidden, the greater the advantage they had. He hoped they could avoid being detected until he could make at least one more Hero.
…He felt no pity whatsoever for those who'd died.
"Um, King Takuto—"
"Did you obtain any information on the Witches?"
Atou was about to ask him something when he cut her off. He was too absorbed in thought to hear her.
Of course, Takuto always came first for her. If the King had a question, she had no reason not to answer it. Even if she wouldn't get another opportunity to ask the question she'd struggled to work up the courage to ask him.
"Unfortunately, there was little information about the Witches…but I learned they're causing wide-spread military-scale damage to the Qualian army and cities and the name of one of the two known to exist."
"There's two?"
According to the information obtained from the High Paladin, two Witches had been confirmed so far in the Holy Kingdom of Qualia. Takuto couldn't help but be surprised that they'd already caused extensive damage, but he was more concerned about their identities.
What kind of beings were these Witches who were regarded in the same light as Atou?
Taking the information she gleaned from Paladin Verdel's memories, Atou bitterly uttered the name of the one causing her king worry.
"Erakino the Slurping Witch is her name." What did her title imply?
Obviously, it represented the Witch's abilities in some way, and it couldn't mean anything good, that was certain. It also marked her as evil, which Takuto already assumed.
"There could be more people like us…"
The Northern Disturbance seemed to have started recently. In fact, there wasn't even a hint of it before the Dark Elves were expelled from their country.
The timing overlapped with Takuto and Atou's arrival.
In other words, it strangely coincided with when Mynoghra came into this world.
Other forces had arrived when they did…
Apprehension crossed Atou's face. After all, if her assumption was right, then they'd be in a terrible situation.
"How do you wish to proceed, my liege? They might be friendlier toward us if they're also evil-aligned…"
"Hm… I get the feeling we won't be able to get along," Takuto calmly deduced while rubbing his chin.
"S-Same here…"
Atou nodded uncomfortably; she had to agree with Takuto on that one. How could she not when all the evil beings they knew of held to ideologies that made it impossible for them to see eye to eye with anyone else?
"Evil beings are crazy, after all… And most of them want to end the world, right? What good comes of that?! It's game over! Stop doing things without thinking about the consequences, evil!"
"D-Destroying themselves in the process is generally their reason for doing it."
"I'm sick of hackneyed villains!"
"I couldn't agree more…"
Evil beings don't get along on a fundamental level. As a group, they lack cooperation and don't care for others. Their subordinates and citizens are typically just pawns to achieve their goals, and other empires are their enemy regardless of alignment.
Sure, there might be exceptions to the rule, but they are few and far between.
In the end, whether they were good or evil, they'd become like water and oil with Mynoghra, who preferred more peaceful solutions.
"The question is: is it a civilization from Eternal Nations that's controlling the Witch in the Northern Province?"
"Every civilization's Heroes in Eternal Nations are a force to be reckoned with. If they enter the picture, the world will inevitably be plunged into chaos," Atou said forebodingly.
"Even if it's not them, it's almost guaranteed these Witches have Hero-class combat skills… What a pain."
"While there are various factors at play, she's still a being capable of suppressing a large empire's armed forces. Just thinking about it makes me uncomfortable. I want us to have some more Heroes as soon as possible."
They were going to butt heads eventually. Takuto was sure of it.
Our objective is to make Mynoghra prosper. I won't make the first move. But there's a chance they might force my hand.
It was only natural to assume outside forces with policies that clashed with his would come up against them.
They might not have much time.
Takuto heaved a heavy sigh over these unamusing world affairs.
"I guess I should start considering other Heroes aside from Isla too. Maybe we should go with a strong combat unit instead."
"We almost have enough Mana to produce one more Hero… But the necessary Mana and Technology Level go up with every Hero. I also believe we should revisit our options."
Various Resources, Mana, and a specific Technology Level are required to produce a Hero.
Takuto had found a way to prepare the necessary costs to create an additional Hero, but they needed a whole lot more time to add more than one to their ranks right now. In other words, they had to be prudent in choosing their next Hero.
Summoning Isla, a Hero who made life more convenient but lacked strength, could put them into an early game checkmate.
Takuto bitterly remembered the time he was playing the game when the large number of Larva produced by Isla was wiped out in a single turn by the enemy Hero's magic.
Saints and Witches…
He needed to tread carefully.
So, he'd decided to make use of the preliminary measures he'd put in place to deal with various situations and to make big changes to those measures in the process.
"Let's be flexible with our strategies. We should occasionally change our plans to meet the situation—and with that said, I want to make a slight alteration to one of our initial policies."
"All right. What would you like altered?"
"My policy on allies. I want to make at least one ally in case things go south."
"What?! You want allies? …Is that even possible for us?" Atou was right to be surprised.
It was a perfectly reasonable empire-management strategy, but not an easy one for Takuto to pull off with his inability to communicate. Not to mention the difficulties presented by Mynoghra being evil.
To be honest, she couldn't see it working.
"It will if it benefits the other empire. Obviously, we'll be limited to neutral nations…"
"Hmm, you mean the empire near our forest? I suppose their stance will have to change if the world around them is…"
"We won't know unless we try."
There was a Human city near the Cursed Sea of Trees. They needed to investigate them further, but they might be able to join forces if the situation called for it.
Mynoghra's first impression wasn't going to be pretty, but as long as they weren't an empire dead set on hegemony, negotiations should be possible. Various Resources, Materials, and Goods could become available through trade with them as well. Mynoghra had things they could offer in return too.
If any emergencies came up, they could also cooperate in striking down their enemies together.
Takuto decided on his future policies while carefully analyzing his mind's game map. His plan was a gamble that risked his negotiating partner becoming an enemy, but if they succeeded, they could better entrench themselves in this region.
It may be better to take a slightly aggressive stance here. That was Takuto's call.
"Then I will summon the Dark Elves and urgently hammer out the details with them."
Atou took action according to his orders. Following the rule of striking while the iron was hot, she took her leave from Takuto and headed to town.
After encouraging her, Takuto stared into empty space atop his stone throne, all alone in the Palace's planned construction site. No emotion crossed his face as he sat in silence.
<-x-X-x->
◇◇◇
WIND violently blew and snow danced. Every exhalation came out in white puffs and the freezing air mercilessly robbed the body of heat.
Mysterious cries echoed and drowned each other out in the distance.
Screams. Roars. Swears. Deranged laughter.
Saint Soalina of Blooming Burials quietly inquired of the situation as her superhuman hearing picked up on the sounds of the mad and deranged rioting in a distant city.
"Is there any movement from the Witch Erakino?"
"She settled in the city she conquered the other day and hasn't moved since," answered the High Paladin who served as her guard.
The Cardinal, who oversaw the Northern Province and carped on her actions, had already escaped far away.
Erakino the Slurping Witch's campaign of terror grew in intensity with each day—as did the trouble they had with her slurped victims.
As she listened to the Paladin's report, Soalina gnawed her lip, frustrated for having fallen behind while dealing with the Mabeasts and Demi-humans wreaking havoc in every section of the Northern Province to divide her armies.
"The Veiled Saint has deployed to the front lines. Her Miracle seems to be a good counter against the Witch, keeping them at a stalemate for the time being."
Soalina thought of the Saint who always covered her face with a veil and kept her head down. She'd barely spoken to the girl whose background she didn't know, but she had a greater affinity for her as a fellow Saint than she did for others. She offered a silent prayer of thanks and encouragement for her still being alive and for keeping the Witch at bay.
But a Saint is only one person. There's only so much one person can do. And they took too long to act.
"Have they calculated the damages yet?"
"Two Northern Province cities have been decimated, along with too many villages and small towns to count. Roughly 30,000 members of the Northern Army were annihilated by the Witch's hand. Civilian casualties are too great to even estimate…"
Soalina silently closed her eyes and apologized to those she couldn't save. They wouldn't come back no matter how much she apologized. She had become a Saint because she wanted to save everyone, yet they all slipped through her fingers like water.
The shadows grew deeper on her pale face.
"What about the Dark Continent omen— No, never mind. We can't afford to look away from our immediate crisis."
A reconnaissance team had been sent to investigate the Dark Continent's Accursed Lands based on her prophecy. Soalina had been informed that they hadn't found anything. She was suspicious when the Cardinal dodged her request for more information. But she couldn't let that distract her now.
Two Saints remained in the Holy Capital in case something went wrong. Soalina concentrated on the problem before her, determined to fulfill her duties.
"I want to leave subjugating the rest of the Mabeasts and Demihumans scattered around the area to the Paladins. I will head to the front lines and aid the Veiled Saint. We may not be able to defeat the
Witch, but we will force her from this land."
"Please wait, Saint Soalina! You need the Cardinal's permission to fight on the front lines—" the High Paladin hastily called after her as she stepped away.
The physical abilities of a Saint far exceed that of the High Paladins.
If she went alone, Soalina could run straight to the front lines in a few hours. Of course, she couldn't bring anyone with her.
"No need. It's my decision."
A sudden strong gust whipped by, causing the High Paladin to stumble a few steps backward as a cloud of snow blinded him. By the time he shook the snow off and opened his eyes, there wasn't even a shadow of the Saint left in sight.
◇◇◇
THE leaders of the various clans of the Elven alliance gravely surrounded a round table located in the chamber where they made the most important decisions.
An Elf read a report to the council with a grim face. He was a promising young man permitted there to gain experience for his role as a future clan chief.
"We have lost contact with Weiss-Nah, the chief city of the Toweiss clan. The ultimatum from that city is the same as the other fallen cities, and information from our Scouts proves it. They have changed sides."
"AGAIN?! The entire Toweiss clan has joined the enemy now!" yelled the clan chief known for his short temper as he slammed his fist on the table.
Even if the others didn't take it out on the furniture, they expressed the same feeling through groans, scowls, and crossed arms.
"If I may be so bold to offer a suggestion to you who have been blessed by the Elementals? How about we ask for aid from the Holy Kingdom of Qualia? You may take these as the words of a youngster who doesn't know his place, but I believe this situation is beyond us…"
"Hogwash! I don't care how long we've been allies with Qualia for, we can't share the pathetic situation we find ourselves in with them!"
"Our many years as allies is exactly why we shouldn't! Upon our pride as Elves blessed by the Elementals, we must solve this problem on our own."
The words of each council member were absolute. They might hear you out, but their opinions weren't easily changed.
The other chiefs seemed to be of the same mind as the first two to speak up.
An Elf's wisdom and power grows with age. That usually benefits their fellow Elves, but sometimes their pride becomes so bloated, it blinded them to the big picture.
The young Elf quietly hung his head and withdrew his suggestion.
"Besides, Qualia is currently occupied with the Witch who appeared in the North. It should be us who wrap up our stupid problems first and sends them aid! Either way, your suggestion won't work."
"Hear, hear! Just imagine what will happen if news leaks to the other nations! Historians will have a field day mocking our alliance in future history books! Dammit! Curse those evil cretins… Aahhh! Just talking about it makes me sick!"
"Deploy the Saints! And the Elemental Champions! We need to clean up this inferior problem now!"
The council meeting once more ended in a clamor of voices.
They had, at last, decided to deploy El-Nah's Saints. A single Saint with the strength to overpower a whole army would surely be able to overturn the loss of one clan's capitulation.
But for some reason…the young future chief was worried that this problem might be the precursor to something bigger.
◇◇◇
PHON'KAVEN was a neutral nation existing on the Dark Continent. In this empire where various Beastmen, such as wolves, leopards, cows, and lizards lived, their forces were busy dealing with Barbarians who had invaded their territory for unknown reasons.
"Here comes an Ogre! Call for the Staff Holder!"
"Saints! Just how many of 'em are there?! This is too much for the Self-defense Force to handle!"
An angry roar echoed as the Beastmen Soldiers complained.
Fending off today's wave was an uphill fight even for Beastmen, who had more latent potential than ordinary Humans. They had already lost count of how many Barbarians they had slaughtered.
Initially, the Self-Defense Forces fought back the waves until they became overwhelmed and had to call in the empire's dignitary and skilled Mage, the Staff Holder.
The moment the cudgel-wielding Ogre tried to charge their defenses, lightning had struck from the heavens and fried its giant body. The Beastmen howled cheers of victory after confirming the Ogre was reduced to a smoking pile of charred meat.
"Hell yeah! That's what I'd expect of our great Staff Holder! Even ferocious monsters fall at your feet with a single spell!"
The old woman with a cow head returned to the city without sticking around long to receive the Self-Defense Forces' words of appreciation.
As he watched her go, an exhausted Wolfman complained to his comrades with a sigh.
"She looks like any other old hag, though. You gotta hate how she can look like that and still be ten times older and stronger than us."
"Watch out, she'll hear you! Anyway, let's get to clearing away that Ogre corpse. It'll only get worse if we leave it to rot."
"Yeah, I know… Hm? What's that?"
With the temporary reprieve from the Barbarian invasion, the Soldier thought he could finally relax for a moment, even on corpse cleanup duty. But then he saw something moving in the distance.
"Oh Saints, gimme a break already…more Barbarians? No, wait! What the hell is with those numbers?! Call the messenger! We need to get news of this back fast!"
The few blurred dots in the distance rapidly multiplied. Eventually, it became clearly visible as a large army—a Barbarian Horde.
Did the other Soldiers notice too? Things suddenly got a whole lot rowdier.
The Wolfman had just finished complaining to his comrades about how it had been a nastily long day. But the day was far from over.
"…What the hell is goin' on?"
A massive number of Barbarians had appeared as suddenly as fog rolling in over the hills. Eyes locked on the incoming threat, the Wolfman muttered more to himself than anyone in particular.
◇◇◇
CONSTRUCTION of the different structures was steadily underway in the Accursed Lands. Most of the work was being done on Mynoghra's Palace.
With enemies on the horizon, it was a problem if the symbolic building that showed the empire's power remained a temporary shack. Moreover, the Palace provided various buffs and bonuses, so its construction took precedence, even from an empire-management viewpoint.
Completing the housing and Food Production facilities also allowed the Dark Elves to work day and night on it, rejoicing that they could finally create a place for their King to live.
Most of the foundation had been assembled, giving it shape. Every corner was decorated by the colorful floor coverings and wall hangings woven by the Dark Elf women, and it was expected to be a magnificent building once completed
Sitting on top of the same stone dais in his new throne room, Takuto quietly hummed, enjoying the tranquility of the night and the warm light of the torches.
"…King Takuto, may I have a moment of your time?"
A voice suddenly spoke beside him. He glanced to his side, and his eyes met with his trusted confidant Atou.
I was only able to get this far because I had her. Because of Atou, we were able to make this empire proposer without any major issues.
Takuto answered her with a smile as he was flooded by emotion.
"Hm? What is it?"
"You were just an ordinary citizen before coming here, right?"
"About as ordinary as you can get! Well, my family had some money, but I was still an average Joe! Where did that question come from? You always ask funny things, Atou."
Takuto more or less came from humble origins. He had commoner sensibilities and shared the same ethics as everyone else from his country. He suddenly came to another world and suffered the shocking fate of having to run an empire like a computer game, but he was like any other modern Earth man at his core—that was how he viewed himself.
Any normal person would be running around like a chicken with its head cut off in the same position. Aren't I doing surprisingly well as king under these circumstances? He leaned into his self-evaluation with joy and excitement. But since Atou asked about my upbringing, does that mean I'm still lacking as king?
Takuto peered into Atou's eyes, quietly seeking the answer.
Atou made up her mind to put the same question to him she had failed to ask the other day.
"Ah, no! It's nothing like that! …Um, I was just wondering if I offended you in any way by killing those Paladins…"
"Why would that offend me?"
Atou didn't have the answer to that question. She never expected him to ask her why.
Takuto could see the nitty-gritty details of the battle through their mental link. Everything that'd happened, from tearing them apart to crushing their bones to the moment she'd played with them before ending their lives.
Atou had prepared several excuses for why she'd enjoyed herself a little too much during battle. She had prepared her apologies for when he accused her of being inhumanely cruel.
But she didn't anticipate being asked why it should bother him.
Takuto should've been a normal person before coming to this world. As such, he should have normal ethics, and Atou believed she'd inherited some of those ethics from him. That's why she was even proud that she could walk the same path as Takuto despite being inherently evil.
But Takuto had just shattered that theory without realizing it.
He asked why he should be bothered in a situation where a normal person would at least be a little shaken, if not experiencing a total mental breakdown.
Atou felt like she was being consumed by the stare of a disturbing presence. She didn't know right from wrong anymore.
She was tormented by the inexplicable fear that Takuto's arrival in this world had changed his very nature. She was haunted by the horrifying thought that he was being affected by the traits granted to him as Mynoghra's commander, and the nice boy who kindly talked to her through the screen was going to go away forever.
"Silly, Atou."
"Oh, I-I'm sorry…"
But then Atou realized those concerns were entirely her mistake.
She remembered she knew nothing about Takuto Ira beyond their time together playing the game. She couldn't continue to express her doubts anymore.
"Is something worrying you? Let me know if there's anything I can do to help!"
"It's all right. I seemed to have been under some kind of misunderstanding…"
"I see… Um, is it just me, or are you depressed? I don't want to see you like that. I want you to always be your cheerful self."
Takuto gently took hold of Atou's hand and wrapped it in his own, like a parent trying to warm their child's hands up. His hands felt warm. His smile was full of affection.
And yet his words almost sounded like an absolute order…
"C'mon, smile! Smile!"
"O-Okay!" Atou hastily responded.
She smiled awkwardly, forgetting that she was a Hero with the potential to destroy the world. Her smile was far from perfect as her lips twitched at the corners, but Takuto seemed pleased enough.
Relieved, Atou was trying to make peace with the indescribable fear welling up in her when a hand rested on her head. Of course, it was Takuto's. He was looking at Atou with the kindest, most loving expression. His tender feelings were conveyed to her through it.
Happiness rushed through her, pushing out all worries and doubts and filling her with relief and trust. Before she knew it, Atou was resting her face on Takuto's chest, and she quietly enjoyed its comfort.
The veil of darkness fell over them, and only the sound of the crackling torches could be heard.
My relationship with Takuto will have to be settled some day, Atou thought. Why did he come to this world? Why am I, a supposed game character, here with him?
The answers to those questions had yet to show themselves.
But if she could be permitted to wish it—
"I'm sure we have a lot of trouble ahead of us, but I know I can make it through if I'm with you. So please, stay with me."
"Me too. I feel the same way as you, King Takuto."
—she hoped their time together like this would continue forever.
Forever and ever.
Together with her Takuto, who she loved and revered.
She prayed unceasingly for their time together to continue without end.
"I've gotta say, things are getting interesting! Let's enjoy ourselves, okay?"
"A-As you command, my king…"
Her beloved king offered her words that were cheerful and encouraging.
But, in this moment, Atou could only see Takuto as a shadowy figure, shrouded in pure darkness.
Volume 1: End
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