Interlude: The Slurping Witch
AN endless expanse of white snow stretched out in every direction. Ground zero for Qualia's Northern Witch Disturbance.
Saint Soalina of Blooming Burials silently stood with her eyes trained forward, as if she were waiting for something in this former prosperous mining town where not a single living soul was left. It was a ghost town. All of the buildings that had once been bastions of human activity had turned to rubble, and the deep piles of endlessly falling snow indicated that the breath of life had been extinguished.
Soalina solemnly gazed at the town where human life had ceased to be, the memory from her last pilgrimage there filling in the scenery that once was, along with the steadfast townspeople she'd seen desperately trying to eke out a living in this harsh land… "..."
The silence was abruptly broken.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock. Clip-clop, clip-clop."
The bell-like singing voice of a delicate young girl rang out through the frigid landscape. An impossibility; children didn't belong in this place where all life had been lost.
Hearing that singing, Soalina scrunched up her beautiful face and tightened her hand around her Holy Staff.
"God doesn't roll the dice ♪ There are no hopes or dreams ♪"
Soalina had never heard those lyrics before. Malice oozed from the singer's words despite the lyrical tone. She dug through her memory for the potential origins of the song, but it didn't bear any semblance to the songs she knew of.
"Life is just for killing time ♪ A board game made by God ♪ Die, die, die, let's all have fun and die!"
As the singing grew louder, someone came into view at the other end of the street. The singer frolicked closer to Soalina as if she were going on a picnic on a lovely, sunny afternoon. When the untitled song ended, a lone girl took center stage in the snowy world devoid of life.
"Hiya, hiya, Sainty. Good to meet you, good to see you. How ya been?"
Saint Soalina quietly stared at the girl opposite her: Erakino, the Slurping Witch.
This girl was the apocalypse-bringer that plunged the northern province of Qualia into hell and claimed the lives of many people and Paladins. Her appearance could be summed up in a single word: quirky.
Adorned in an outfit unlike anything worn by the various tribes and races Soalina knew of, the girl's face was painted in garish makeup like a pierrot's in a wandering troupe of performers. Despite the strangeness of her outward appearance, Soalina was convinced the entity before her was an aspect of calamity itself. The child hid her cruelty under a thin veneer of "innocence," not unlike the fantastical paints covering her face.
An unpleasant silence settled over them, and a nasty pair of eyes unreservedly sized Soalina up with an amused sneer. Soalina's expression didn't so much as twitch despite being exposed to the kind of eldritch gaze that would incite fear and panic in a normal person.
"Two months have passed since the last Divine Execution."
Soalina's quiet utterance disregarded Erakino's greeting and came without context. It seemed less like she was speaking to Erakino and more like she was confirming the facts with herself.
Erakino cackled without a care in the world despite being ignored. Soalina merely stared at Erakino, unbothered by her high-pitched laughter shattering the world of silent desolation around them.
"Kyahaha! It's been two months, eh? That much time has gone by already? Wowee, does the time fly! I'm surprised too. Time is money, procrastination brings loss. I wonder if I've been wasteful?"
The way she spread her arms out wide in an exaggerated gesture of surprise seemed a lot like a pierrot's opening act, especially with how the countless bells sewn to her clothing tinkled with abandon, adding emphasis to how she felt.
"Slurping Witch Erakino, as far as the records show, you have been divinely executed seventeen times. Each execution was successful, although accompanied by great sacrifices…"
Divine punishment carried out in the God of Qualia's name was called a Divine Execution. Since it was done in God's name, it was the ultimate punishment that didn't allow for any mistakes. Confirming that each execution was successful meant confirming the absolute destruction and death of the executed.
Erakino had undergone execution seventeen times.
No mistakes ever occurred when doling out punishment in God's name, and it was the way of the world that any living creature died when killed. Soalina had meted out several of those Divine
Executions with her own hands and confirmed the termination of her opponent each time. Hence, this situation was a bizarre one and proof that the entity in front of her had deviated from the laws of nature established by God.
"Wahahahaha! S-Seventeen times! I can't believe it's been seventeen times! I die a little too much, LOL!"
Saint Soalina observed every move taken by the Witch, who was bent over with deranged laughter while shouting letters that made no sense. There was no question that the Witch before her was the same girl Soalina had slain many times before.
This wasn't some cheap trick involving different people assuming her appearance, a sibling stepping into the role, or a magic duplicate. The greatest proof of this was Soalina's extraordinary senses vividly informing her that the entity before her was indeed the one and same Witch who'd been killed two months ago.
The same Witch they had killed the time before that and the time before that… Witch Erakino had existed and died all seventeen times. She kept coming back no matter how many times they felled her. That was the nightmare known as Slurping Witch Erakino.
"Erakino…why don't you die?" Saint Soalina frankly asked her opponent about the question that plagued her.
She naturally didn't expect a decent response in return. The girl was likely to string a bunch of incomprehensible words together in that mentally unstable way of hers, as she usually did.
But Soalina had hope for something more to happen this time. They usually always went straight to fighting, but the Witch seemed much more talkative than usual. Due to the nature of their unique skills, the battle always leaned heavily in Soalina's favor. So it seemed like Erakino was searching for a gap in her defenses that could lead to her victory, rather than foolishly rushing into a losing battle.
Soalina also preferred to gather as much information as possible to help her find a way to truly destroy this spawn of calamity rather than repeating the same old dull fight.
"Nah, Sainty. I die. A lot. You killed me seventeen times, right? Then I've died a whole seventeen times. Wowie, poor me."
"Then how are you here…?"
"I'm…Freddy lite. But I guess you wouldn't know that story! I mean, it's totally old school! Kyahaha!"
What was so funny? Did she finally lose her marbles? Erakino roared with laughter as she held onto her stomach, tears in her eyes. She was obviously convulsing with laughter about something only she understood, but Soalina couldn't even begin to fathom why, nor who or what this Freddy was.
And then her wild laughter stopped as suddenly as it had started. The girl with no logical reasoning behind her emotional ups and downs pursed her lips at Soalina.
"Hold up, aren't ya a little too strong there, Sainty? I know I don't look it, but I'm totally going for the strong girl thing here. So I'm hella unhappy that I'm practically decimated every single time I go at it with you. Is this, like, some kinda death event? Where's a guide when you need one? Why do I have to go to fourteen every time? What's the trick?"
Soalina didn't understand a word she said, but she could guess the gist behind what she was trying to get at.
"Saints are the guardians of the innocent and the agents of divine punishment. There is no mercy left for an evil being like you, and lenience isn't allowed when it comes to fulfilling our responsibilities."
"The last Sainty had a doggie. How's she doin'?"
The Veiled Saint was defeated by Erakino when she was about to perform the eleventh Divine Execution. Soalina had only heard vague details about what had happened. Someone was clearly withholding information. The Northern Assembly was divided on where the responsibility for it lay, but people worthlessly trying to push the blame onto someone else was the last thing Qualia needed right now. Hence, Soalina was dispatched to clean up the mess and was somehow managing to hold off the invasion.
Two towns were destroyed between the time the Veiled Saint was defeated and Soalina was asked to confront this great evil. It was foolish to try and count the number of lives lost. Seeking repentance from those she'd failed to save, Soalina shifted into a fighting stance with her Holy Staff. After all, her extrasensory perception as a Saint told her the conversation was over.
"You are trying to do something, Erakino. I still do not know what it is, but I see now that that power is your true identity."
"Ah…" Erakino uttered with a blank look of surprise. "…This is why I just hate goody-two-shoes," she sneered.
The innocent veneer slipped off, leaving a ghastly cruel smile that hinted at a hatred of all that lived.
The battle was about to begin.
"Well, shucks, you got me! Where are all my lovely Erakino supporters? It's time to roll out the clowns. The main event is about to begin, it's your time to shine!"
Several shadows appeared from behind the rubble in response to her call. Soalina wondered why she hadn't sensed them until now, but then she frowned when she noticed they were the former inhabitants of this town.
The people's skulls were cracked open like a coconut, and there was a hollow cavity where their brains should've been, as if they had been sucked out by something. Nevertheless, their dully-lit eyes honed in on Soalina with the hostile intent to kill her.
"You savage…"
"You can mock me all you like, but…I won't let you mock my people!"
The people with their brains slurped out sluggishly began to move on cue with her words. They hobbled in Soalina's precise direction while mumbling what sounded as incoherent as baby babbling. As they staggered out from the shadows, their numbers grew from a couple to a few hundred. Seeing those pitiful souls surrounding her, Soalina's heart went out to all the lives that had been lost before she promptly set aside her emotions.
"Okay, babies, chaaaarge! You'll never be yourself again after having your brains slurped anyway, so give her hell!" Erakino encouraged them in a chipper voice that didn't fit the disturbing scene and snapped a whip she'd pulled out of only God knows where.
She snapped her whip at the same time Soalina was quietly whispering her prayers to God with her Holy Staff raised.
"Ye once innocent people, our Holy God Arlos forgives your sins for turning against His Saint and commands your souls be saved. Rest in peace. I entomb ye now in a blooming burial."
"…Hot damn."
The brain-slurped townspeople rushing in to kill Soalina were instantly reduced to ash by hellfire. Flames engulfed the snowy landscape, the deep piles of snow boiled away with the pitiful lost souls, and the explosive steam created a strong gust of wind.
The sudden windstorm caused Erakino to stumble, but she quickly regained her balance. And not a second too quick because
Soalina's powerful legs had brought her face to face with the Witch.
"Whoa, whoa! Down girl! Time out! Uncle! Uncle! Fine, take
thiiiissss!"
Erakino swung her whip around and tried to do something with her strange abilities, but Soalina's Holy Staff plunged through her stomach before she could finish whatever it was. The Saint's overly enhanced strength easily scattered the Witch's entrails, splattering lukewarm blood all over Soalina's cheeks.
"Oomph! …Ah? Huh. Erakino is a goner with that hit. This is totally…a crapshoot…game… When do I get my new game plusss…?"
The Witch's body crumpled on the ground, creating a pool of bright-red blood around her.
"The eighteenth death… This should buy us some time."
Yet again, Soalina was unable to expose Erakino's true ability. It was safe to say they were at a stalemate. At the very least, as long as she was able to keep Erakino at bay, the other towns wouldn't experience any casualties at her hand. But she didn't think it was wise to remain in this same place focused only on dealing with Erakino without working toward another solution.
The Saint, who was touted for being the harbinger of justice and peace, grit her teeth in secret as the prospects for a solution were slimmer than she'd hoped.
"We still don't know anything about the potential apocalypsebringer in the Accursed Lands. There has been absolutely no news from the Paladins who went to investigate… How many lives will be sacrificed in that land if it's yet another Witch?"
Soalina gently rubbed her cold cheek. She scowled when she felt something sticky there, and it wasn't until she brought her hand in front of her eyes that she realized it was Erakino's blood.
Even the incarnation of calamity sheds red blood? Soalina heaved a tired sigh with that odd realization.
The nineteenth Erakino was bound to show up again soon. Soalina was still capable of subduing Witch Erakino, but the girl was definitely growing stronger with each defeat. If nothing was done about it, the difference in strength between them would be reversed, and the day would come when Soalina would fall before her foreign power.
That's what the cunning Witch was going for. There weren't many Saints with more effective means of dealing with Erakino than Soalina and her large-scale Divine Execution techniques.
Soalina had to uncover the secrets behind Erakino's resurrection and kill her before that day came. Otherwise, Erakino would lay her wicked fingers on the Holy Capital, and she wouldn't stop until she killed all the people of Qualia. And she would do it like a cruelly innocent child playing with their favorite toy until they broke it, exposing sinless lambs to her unfettered malice all the while. That and that alone was the one thing that must never be allowed.
Soalina became a Saint to stop such things.
"But I need to save them all."
Flowers bloomed amid the burned terrain as if to send off the dead. A determination driven by regret filled the whisper that disappeared among the flowers blooming in the frigid land.
Only Erakino, who clung faintly to what little life she had left in her, cracked a heartless, unseen smile upon hearing her words.
-x-X-x-
Prologue>
BETWEEN successfully making peaceful contact with the multiracial empire of Phon'kaven despite a rocky start and entering into an alliance with another world power, Mynoghra's last turn had netted them results that ran counter to their nature as an evil civilization.
But alliances always involve give and take.
In return for establishing friendly relations with Phon'kaven, Mynoghra was tasked with defending Dragontan—a Phon'kaven town built close to the Accursed Lands. Of course, Takuto had turned the negotiations in his favor. He'd succeeded in gaining the right to use the Dragon Vein Mine, a strategic resource point, located in Dragontan.
…Mynoghra was steadily increasing its national power on all fronts: constructing new facilities, strengthening the troops, raising future leaders who were showing rapid growth and reliability, and most of all, with the summoning of a new Hero unit, Isla, Queen of bugs.
Mynoghra's foundation as a strong empire was beginning to solidify thanks to several well-planned strategies that had played out in a matter of a few weeks.
But it was just when Takuto thought everything was going perfectly according to plan that they'd stumbled across the strange phenomenon of defeated Barbarians mysteriously vanishing into thin air, leaving a puzzling gold coin where their corpses should've been. The moment Takuto had shared Atou's vision and confirmed what the design on that coin meant, he was alerted to the sudden appearance of a massive Barbarian horde.
Forces had appeared from yet another game Takuto had often played during his last life.
Mynoghra's King Takuto Ira was about to be forced to make some hard choices by the military forces closing in on Dragontan that functioned under entirely different rules and mechanics from Eternal Nations.
◇◇◇
"IT'S like…a festival."
Takuto concisely evaluated the situation to no one in particular.
Bringing a civilization from Eternal Nations to life in this unknown world was inconceivable enough as it was. Obviously, he had considered the possibility of other civilizations showing up too, but not from an entirely different game.
"Brave Questers, your run-of-the-mill classic JRPG," Takuto uttered the name of that game to himself.
His fading memories vividly came back to him, bringing a wave of nostalgia with them. Brave Questers was a timeless masterpiece full of appealing characters that was beloved by many people and still played to this day.
"Atou, can you hear me?" Takuto stopped thinking to himself and calmly sent a telepathic message to his confidant. A wide grin spread across his face at her immediate response. "Okay, listen up,
I'm about to explain our winning strategy."
He began explaining the game he'd become so addicted to he'd played it enough times to have memorized the strategy guides.
Evil forces worlds apart were on the verge of clashing.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 1: Invasion
JUST as Phon'kaven's town of Dragontan had identified a horde of Barbarians in the distance, some among the Barbarians were licking their lips while observing their far-off prey.
"Flamin, hath the Demon Lord given his orders?"
Hill Giants, Goblins, Orcs, and various demons made up the horde. A single block of ice spoke amid the monsters typically categorized as Barbarians.
Nay, it was a living creature, not an inanimate one.
The strange man covered entirely in ice had a huge body twice the size of an adult male and carried a giant axe to match his size. His appearance was too warped to describe as human—it'd be more apt to view him as compressed ice crystals with a will of its own.
This man, who was clearly in a league of his own within the horde, had directed his question toward the man standing next to him as he observed Dragontan.
"Kihehe! He sure did, Ice Rock. 'Go at it the same as always,' he said."
The man who'd answered was equally strange-looking. Unlike the man of ice, he stood around the same height as a typical Human or Orc. However, his sickly thin body and the unceasing flames encasing him from head to toe highlighted his abnormality.
The man of ice was Frost General Ice Rock.
The man of flame was Flame Demon Flamin.
Both were generals in the Demon Lord's Army and key boss characters in the role-playing game Brave Questers.
Frost General Ice Rock's body creaked as he opened his mouth that didn't look like a mouth. "Is there any intel on what kind of world we, the Demon Lord's Army, hath been suddenly summoned to?"
"Hm? Ah, yeah, ain't that different from the last one! Kihehe!
World's full of monsters, magic, and endlessly breeding Humans," Blazing General Flamin answered with a sadistic smile without looking at Ice Rock.
Having already sent his subordinates to scout and investigate, Flamin knew this world better than anyone else in the Demon Lord's Army.
…It was only just the other day that the Demon Lord's Army had awoken in this strange new land.
In their previous world, they had an archnemesis known as the
Hero. The Demon Lord had set out to fight the final battle with this Hero who was powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with the entire Demon Lord's Army alone.
On that day, the two generals, who'd been revived by the Demon Lord after being defeated by the Hero once before, were confronting the Hero who was coming for their lord's head. They had
waited in the Demon Lord's Castle Hall, their last and final stronghold, to intercept and finally bring an end to the hateful Hero, hoping they could at last offer victory up to the lord they served.
The final battle had begun at long last. Swords clashed in an exchange of blows and spells launched every which way.
Angry roars, screams, war cries.
Many of their companions were once again slain by the overwhelming power possessed by puny humans. But then what happened next had been obscured from their memories as if a fog rolled in and blocked it out.
As they watched their comrades get torn apart like scraps of paper, the remaining demons raised their voices and charged in to retaliate, when—they suddenly found themselves standing in the middle of a barren field.
It was just their master, the Demon Lord, and a few of the named high-ranking demons who found themselves there, surrounded on all sides by a wasteland. They were left with neither a glorious victory that would let them lead the world into darkness nor a humiliating defeat at the hands of light.
All they had were themselves and nothingness.
…That all transpired just about a week ago.
The Demon Lord immediately brought the confused demons under control, and they were quick to act after that. First came surveying this new land. Then came calling their subordinates with a summoning skill and constructing the Demon Lord's Castle to be their base of operations. Finally, they turned their sights to building and maintaining an army.
Their objectives hadn't changed. Even if the world and rules it was governed by had.
They had swiftly laid down the groundwork necessary to achieve their sole goal.
And once the stage was set at lightning speed, they moved to overrun this world just like they had tried to do in the last.
◇◇◇
"'TIS a beautiful world, indeed," General Ice Rock muttered to no one in particular, slowly raising his cold eyes to the heavens above.
He could see birds comfortably soaring through the cloudless, blue sky. The land itself was so vast it seemed endless, and the breath of resilient life could be sensed even from the barren wilds.
Ice Rock didn't understand why he was in this peculiar situation or what he was supposed to do in this world.
All demons were driven forward by the Demon Lord's orders. They always wielded their full power, following the instincts raging within them like a flooding river. Everything was done to fulfill their almighty Demon Lord's wish: to annihilate humanity and create a paradise for demons. Such ambitions were what allowed them to live how they pleased and were also the reason for their existence.
"Our mission is to conquer the world. We'll annihilate humanity and build our paradise."
The Demon Lord's orders were to "Conquer."
Just as they had been in the last world, so they were in this one.
Ice Rock would turn himself into a mighty hunting dog per his lord's wishes. He would once again trample countless cities and extinguish human activity as he had before. The world may be different, but his actions remained unchanged. And so, to fulfill his role as hunter, he set his sights on the town assigned to be his first prey in this world.
"…Is that the first sacrifice? A human town that'll become the cornerstone of our supremacy."
"Hehe! Apparently, it belongs to a kingdom called Phon'kaven. One of the beasty scouts I caught real nice in my snare was awful quick to tell me everythin'!"
"Hmph. Distasteful as always."
Unlike his fellow general, Ice Rock had more of an honorable warrior's disposition. That nature of his despised Flamin's brutality and took form in his critical remarks.
Beastmen scouts had been sent out from what should've been a human town. Beastmen tend to be closer aligned to demons and monsters. Some races dislike conflict, but they're generally incompatible with humans.
What in the glacial fields is one doing scouting for humans? That doubt crossed Ice Rock's mind but dissipated as quickly as it came. He likely didn't have the ability to think for himself.
Acting solely according to the Demon Lord's orders was what defined the Four Generals of the Demon Lord's Army. Nay, Ice Rock believed that defined every demon and monster alike who served the Demon Lord.
At the same time, some vague discomfort he couldn't put his finger on was niggling at the back of his mind. Of course, he didn't have the time to analyze and confirm the feeling in detail. The Demon Lord had ordered him to "Conquer the world," and taking action took precedence over everything else.
Ice Rock shook his hard head to shake off his concerns as indecipherable unease took root in the pit of his stomach. Before long, his inorganic ice eyes shone with his resolve, and he put another question to Flamin to place the mission at the forefront of his mind.
"…It is what it is. Did the Demon Lord say anything about how we should conquer the town?"
"Anything goes! We're free to use whatever monsters and strategies our wicked hearts' desire!"
"'Tis fortunate the Orcs and Goblins joined our army. World conquest will be much easier with them."
There was one reason why their forces had grown this large in such a short span of time. A stroke of good luck befell them when they were still worried their army wasn't strong enough with just their summoned underlings. This luck came in the form of the local monsters offering their allegiance to the Demon Lord and applying to join his army. What they lacked in strength, they made up for in numbers. It was a fortuitous situation indeed.
Then again, more than half had been expended during the several reconnaissance missions they'd conducted to get a feel for their prey's strength… In any case, it was a cheap price to pay to obtain information on the humans. These monsters were never a part of their original army, anyway. As the one in charge of scouting out Phon'kaven's strength, Flamin was happy with these results that netted them a decent amount of information on the local humans.
"Kihehe! It reminds me of the good ol' days waging war on the ol' world! Of those first days when we demons invaded human lands and destroyed an unmemorable kingdom in a single night!" Flamin enthused with disturbing glee.
Ice Rock also remembered those days of yore. The day everything started. The battle over the world with humans—with the Hero. Those days he swung his battle-axe to bring all to their knees before the Demon Lord. And he remembered the decisive battle with the Hero. An avalanche of information cascaded into Ice Rock's mind with the flood of memories racing through him like a raging river.
That disturbing, niggling feeling grew more prominent.
"Flamin, this is an odd query, but…"
"Huh? What is it?"
"…What of our original ambitions? How fare they?"
"Huuuh? Why do ya care…?"
Ice Rock couldn't forget the concerns he'd tried to shake off and voiced them instead.
Those final moments—Ice Rock vividly remembered participating in the battle that would decide the world's champion. He remembered the moment when the Hero easily defended against his
Ultimate Attack and shattered his ice core with his return blow. Ice Rock remembered how he fell back and stared through his hazy consciousness at the Demon Lord fighting the Hero.
Everything that followed was vague.
He had assumed he'd perished after that, but that answer didn't check out with the fragments of obscured memories he had pieced back together. In which case, had they been summoned to this world before the battle with the Hero was decided?
…No, that didn't check out either.
After all, Ice Rock had definitely seen the Hero's blade pierce the
Demon Lord in his final moments…
Thus, he endured his shame to ask Flamin. He chose to borrow his serpentine wisdom despite knowing that Flamin was scheming to outsmart the other three generals to become the Demon Lord's closest aide. He hoped he'd find the answers to the discomforting doubts surging within him.
However…
"Meh! Doesn't matter! Gettin' the prey in front of ya comes first, doesn't it?! Am I wrong, Ice Rock?!"
"…You're not."
Unfortunately, Flamin didn't give the answer he was hoping for. Actually, Flamin did seem to pause and think about it. He was likely experiencing the same conundrum as Ice Rock.
Things started to get noisy around them. The monsters' excitement and thirst for blood had reached an uncontrollable high. With unintelligent growls and strange cries filling the air, they didn't have time for idle chitchat anymore. Ice Rock sensed the time had come without finding the answer to his questions.
"Move out the monsters. We'll start by destroying this
Dragontan town and offer up the suffering and despair of its humans to the Demon Lord."
The adjutant waiting beside him, a demon clad in a robe with a wand in hand, nodded respectfully at his orders. The demon drew letters in the sky with some sort of magic spell. The unintelligent monsters slowly began their forward march on cue with that spell.
"What'll ye do, Flamin?"
"Ah, I'll sit this one out. You can have the lead. You'd better be grateful, Ice Rock!!"
"Is that so? You have my gratitude."
The ice giant drew the enormous battle-axe from his back and brandished it with both hands. This was the thick and heavy weapon he had proudly slaughtered many an enemy with. None had stood before him and this battle-axe and lived to tell the tale—except for the Hero.
Ice Rock took a step forward. The earth shook, the dirt sinking and freezing under the giant's unbearable weight. He marched toward the town of Dragontan, aware of the gaze on his ice-cold back.
Flamin couldn't be trusted. Ice Rock couldn't understand what the man of flame was thinking.
But that was no excuse to stop in his tracks.
All was well if the Demon Lord obtained the world in the end. And Ice Rock had the power to make that dream a reality.
Everyone but us can perish.
So decided Ice Rock with the arrogance and short-sightedness of one of the Demon Lord's Four Generals.
◇◇◇
FLAMIN spit on the ground with utter boredom and disinterest as he watched Ice Rock and the monsters march toward the town, kicking up dust and dirt in their wake. But his expression instantly shifted when a bird-shaped monster covered in flames landed beside him and gave its report.
He turned his gaze toward the northwest with his lips twisting up in wicked delight.
Insubordinate, uncooperative, sadistically cruel.
If Ice Rock had an honorable warrior's disposition, then Flamin would be the living incarnation of a venomous snake.
Flamin gave the bird-shaped monster some sort of instructions. The bird took flight to loyally fulfill its master's orders.
Blazing General Flamin's gaze remained locked on one location, a faint smile tugging at his lips. His sadistic grin belonged to someone who didn't doubt he was an absolute being in the universe and a destroyer about to trample on innocent life.
"Hehehe! Guess I'll go snag us another town! To get one step closer to my goal!"
His sights were set in the direction of the Accursed Lands.
<-x-X-x->
Chapter 2: Two Shades of Evil Don't Mix
SEVERAL hours later.
The troops led by Frost General Ice Rock had already set up camp south of Dragontan and were putting pressure on the local armed forces. There was almost no resistance beyond the sporadic arrow shot to scare off monsters that had come too close. This did some minor damage to the general's troops, but viewed on a military scale, it was no different from being stung by a bee.
Seeing his opponent's meager resistance, Ice Rock nodded with the satisfying knowledge that things were proceeding smoothly to conquer the town.
"Hrm. I was staying cautious, but this is all they've got? I suppose
'tis to be expected given the town's size…"
Ice Rock had mobilized 5,000 troops for this operation. While it wasn't a large army by any means, it was the perfect fighting force composed of monsters that were physically stronger than puny humans. This base strength was further amplified by the addition of Frostfangs, Ice Rock's direct subordinates.
Considering the strength of his army, even if the town concentrated all its efforts on defense, it was bound to quickly fall before him. It was only natural for Dragontan, that'd chosen an open battlefield and was afraid of losing any soldiers, to go on the defensive despite knowing the consequences of siege warfare.
"But do ye spineless cowards even intend to engage in battle?
Hm, humanity?"
Ice Rock would be disappointed if they didn't. He couldn't be proud of his military achievements if he unilaterally overran the town without running into any resistance. What was the point of taking the lead then? The current situation was unsatisfying to Ice Rock, who wanted to prove his usefulness to the Demon Lord by lavishly putting his power on display.
Were his feelings venting themselves by taking physical form? White, frigid air enshrouded his entire body, and his limbs of ice creaked under the weight of the power he unleashed. The humanoid monsters with some semblance of intelligence all stepped away from the cold air, except for one demon who deliberately moved closer.
"General Ice Rock, the platoon is ready to be deployed."
"What monsters are in it?"
"It consists of Hill Giant and Orc squads, sir. They will break down the gates to let the rest of the troops invade the town."
Giant, aggressive monsters stepped to the front of the brigade, growling in response to those words. Everything was ready.
Ice Rock gave a big nod to his subordinates awaiting his signal.
"Let's teach these humans and the fools who follow them a lesson," he said, raising his voice loud enough to shake the earth as he gave the marching order—if nothing else, he'd at least get his glory by doing a spectacular job razing the town to the ground. "Charge!"
"Ooooooooooooooooohhhhhhh!!!!"
The monsters shook the ground with roars that echoed into the distance, informing all life that the great Demon Lord's first step toward world conquest in this land had commenced.
Yes, it'd begun. From this moment, their greatest wish would—
And then it happened. The heavens suddenly turned black and were consumed by eerie darkness.
The previously blue sky transmogrified into a horrifying, spinetingling shade of black, and the passing clouds became a venomous shade of purple. The vast land below became even more distorted than the sky above. What should've been a barren wasteland started to rot and decay, giving off the stench of rotten eggs left in the sun.
Unrest shot through the Demon Lord's Army like a lightning bolt at this abrupt shift in the environment around them. Even Ice Rock, who was said to be so brave he knew no fear, couldn't hide his surprise.
It didn't take long for confusion to spread through the ragtag horde of monsters and demons.
"What the demi-hell is this?!"
"What's goin' on?!"
"What happened?!"
Ice Rock and the intelligent monsters and demons cried out as they looked around and took defensive positions. But they were visibly flustered over how to defend against the sudden environmental change surrounding them as far as the eye could see.
"Ice Mage! Report!"
"Th-This is likely the work of a spell! But I've never seen a spell with such a wide area of effect! It covers our entire battalion!" the demon mage standing right beside Ice Rock cried out as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
All the spells in his world were meant for a single target. He'd never heard of a wide-area spell that could affect a whole army or the terrain. He couldn't even imagine what effect it'd have.
"Calm the monsters!" Ice Rock finally ordered around the time monsters had started killing each other out of fear. His intelligent subordinates hurriedly tried to control the rampaging monsters with little luck.
They were no longer able to advance on the town.
Monsters are driven by their strong instincts. For that reason, they were easy enough to direct toward annihilating humanity, but it came with the disadvantage of them becoming uncontrollable in times of great duress and panic. Because they act based on intense instincts, they can't resist instinctual fear. Internecine strife had already caused considerable damage to their numbers.
If this kept up, they might have to call off conquering the town due to the weakening of their forces. While his limited number of demon subordinates frantically tried to control the situation, Ice Rock determined this bizarre phenomenon was the work of hostile forces, and he tried to analyze the situation with mounting consternation.
…Odd. The Goblins, Orcs, Hill Giants, and their kind are growing more fatigued by the minute. Meanwhile, pure demons such as myself are growing stronger…
It almost seemed as if the environment was being recreated into one meant for the forces of darkness. He thought it strange that the nondemonic monsters were being negatively affected when they had a lot in common with the creatures that resided in the demon realm.
This was the difference between evil civilizations and chaotic neutral civilizations. The critical distinction between these alignments in Eternal Nations was what brought about this result, but it was nigh impossible for Ice Rock to even begin to guess at that possibility when those rules didn't apply in his world.
Did they use some sorta unique spell? And what is with this thick smell of darkness… Who the blazing inferno are we dealing with?
Things feeling oddly out of place made it difficult for Ice Rock to make a snap decision. That said, it didn't change the fact his troops were sustaining massive losses. Although Ice Rock and his fellow demon subordinates were growing stronger, there weren't enough of them to make up an army.
More than anything else, it took effort to destroy a town and wipe out every single hateful human. Ice Rock gnashed his teeth over the agonizing fact that he'd been robbed of his plan not to let a single pest escape. And then his subordinate had to go and make a remark that further stoked the flames of rage within him.
"General Ice Rock…c-could it be th-the Hero—"
"Don't utter that name!" Ice Rock rebuffed his subordinate in a quiet yet livid voice.
Just hearing the Hero mentioned brought a flood of detestable memories to the forefront of his mind. That odious creature constantly stood in the way of their road to world domination. The memory of having been felled by his hands steadily ate away at Ice Rock.
He gave his head a hard, creaky shake to dispel the ominous suggestion that greatly displeased him. The monsters finally stopped panicking, perhaps because Ice Rock's efforts to hide his own turmoil had paid off. But morale had fallen to an all-time low.
Sensing that leaving things this way would negatively affect his town conquest, Ice Rock raised his battle-axe and his voice.
"Ye needn't fear the Hero! Nay, any enemy is but an obstacle to be trampled by the Demon Lord's Army! No matter who appears, I, one of the Demon Lord's Four Generals, will lay waste to them!"
His deep, powerful voice drew the monsters' attention to him. Just as the monsters' morale was beginning to rise from the instinctual relief and allegiance they felt toward Ice Rock, who could be so imposing during a crisis—
"The Hero, huh? Sounds like you really did come from an RPG. I assume being one of the Demon Lord's Four Generals makes you a powerful unit?"
A strange girl was standing in their midst. Mousy, ash-colored hair, crimson eyes, and long, pointed ears.
Ice Rock stared wide-eyed at this girl whose physical traits clearly marked her as belonging to the darkness. She had appeared before him with absolutely no presence, as if she were nothing more than an illusion or a mirage.
"What are ye, girl?" Ice Rock quietly asked, still surprised by this phenomenon that had bested his powerful detection abilities. "Yer no…Hero. Are ye a demon? Who are ye? Where did ye come from? Why are ye here? And what's this Ar-Pi-Gee ye speak of?"
The waves of darkness billowing from the girl astonished Ice Rock. She obviously didn't belong in this place, and he decided to talk before carelessly attacking someone who was clearly cut from the same evil cloth.
If she was a local demon, then there was no reason not to be friendly, and if she were to someday swear allegiance to the Demon Lord, then they may very well become comrades. Plus, this was a good way to obtain more information, so he considered talking the optimal course of action.
"Oh my gosh! That's a lot of questions. Oh, speaking of questions, is that person there your adjutant or something?"
The girl pointed to the demon who commanded the monsters beside Ice Rock. This was one of the demons who assisted him with strategic matters. When he noticed Atou's interest in him, the mage, who'd been keeping the monsters under control with his magic, pompously introduced himself.
"That's right! I am Frost General Ice Rock's adjutant, Frost Mage.
A little wench like you should bow before m—"
Fresh blue blood sprayed everywhere as the Frost Mage right beside Ice Rock was pierced to death. Speared straight through his buttocks into his head by a tentacle that'd erupted from the ground at lightning speed, the demon convulsed twice before vanishing into thin air, leaving a gold coin in his place.
"Wench! What've ye done?!"
General Ice Rock's stone face was marred by surprise. He may have selected the Frost Mage to be his adjutant for his intellect, but he was by no means a weakling. Instantly recognizing his opponent's ability from that attack, he drew the giant battle-axe from his back and wielded it with an infuriated expression.
Ice Rock had forgotten to consider the possibility that the girl could be an absolute adversary who operated under different logic and convictions from himself… Nay, it wasn't even possible for him to consider it in the first place. After all, his people had never encountered a nonhuman enemy.
"Answer me! Who are ye, wench?!"
The girl chuckled at his angry roar. Countless tentacles extended from her back and skewered the defenseless demons who were concentrating on controlling the nearby monsters. Then came the death cries of the monsters.
Ice Rock glanced over his shoulder to see a gigantic insect had torn his supposedly strong soldiers to pieces. War cries rose from the direction of the town. When he looked, the gates had opened and a small platoon was coming out. Arrows and spells were launched in a volley from atop the outer bailey at the monsters ordered to destroy the town's external walls.
Ice Rock groaned, his stony face distorting with rage when he realized the initiative had been taken from him. The insect-type monsters that had appeared out of nowhere seemed to be compatible with the land and were unilaterally eliminating the exhausted monsters. Worse yet, significant damage was being done by the humans' arrows and spells.
If nothing else, his mission to destroy the town gate and external walls was doomed to fail.
Such resistance shouldn't have been possible given his initial estimations, but it appeared they'd intentionally concealed their defensive capabilities.
And then there was the girl before him.
He fell into this one-sided predicament and was made a fool of in the short time he was distracted by her. His failure began the moment he let down his guard thinking she was cut from the same wicked cloth.
He had to kill the pesky girl. No, killing her wouldn't be enough.
With magma-like rage bubbling up inside him, Ice Rock exhaled a frosty breath. How did the girl perceive that action? Chuckling, she flashed a belittling smile as she pinched the sides of her dress and politely curtsied.
"How do you do? I'm Sludge Atou from the wonderful world of 4x strategy games. For the time being, I would like to kill every last one of you."
"YOU WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!!!!"
Ice Rock's shout echoed through the battlefield, signaling the opening of hostilities.
The first all-too-familiar war began for Mynoghra.
<-x-X-x->
◇◇◇
MYNOGHRA'S prized Hero, Sludge Atou, and the Demon Lord Army's prized general, Frost General Ice Rock. Just before these two bosslevel entities from different worlds crossed paths…
In the town of Dragontan, Mayor Antelise Antik commanded the Self-defense Force in a draconian manner no one knew she was capable of.
"Don't think about what comes next! Bring all the arrows to the outer walls! Evacuate all citizens to the northwest block! We're going to abandon the town as soon as we secure a path of retreat!"
Beastmen runners rushed around in response to the instructions she gave in rapid succession.
Antelise was standing on top of the southern gate's bailey wall. Under normal circumstances, the mayor should've retreated to a safer location to give orders, but certain circumstances made that impossible.
Town hall still hadn't recovered a quarter of its functions from the Kruklain Trading Company's recent act of treason. Trying to tackle this crippling disaster right after the last one was too much for her to handle alone. That was why she took command right where the action was. There was no room for middleman messengers to botch up their reports. Seeing and analyzing the situation for herself was more effective.
But even under such stressful circumstances, her brilliant mind made a calm analysis of the situation.
Dragontan was doomed to fall before long at this rate.
They needed something that could overturn the overwhelming difference in strength. Obviously, they couldn't expect reinforcements from Phon'kaven to save them. Of course, Antelise did still dispatch a messenger by horse. The request for reinforcements was signed by Staff Holder Pepe, who was currently focusing his efforts on leading the citizens to safety. The mainland would probably send reinforcements in response to a plea from one of their Staff Holders, but given the pinch they were already in, they'd never make it in time.
They had no choice but to play all their cards. Otherwise, they'd lose everything. Literally everything. That was how much evil and brutality Antelise sensed from the Barbarians, who'd marched close enough to be seen from the walls.
"O Elementals! Tell me the situation around Dragontan!"
Antelise activated a Search Spell using Elven Elemental Artes. Pale lights glowed and danced around her. However, the flickering grew unstable and eventually disappeared with a small pop.
"Urph! HurUUUUUAAAAAGHAGHUUUUUUH!" Antelise choked and threw up. "Guh… O Elementals, heed my call!"
She tried to use the same artes again. One of the soldiers guarding her hastened over in a panic.
"Mayor Antik! Stop this! You'll hurt yourself at this rate!"
"Forget about me! Do your job instead! I'll pay you handsomely for it later! Buy me as much time as you possibly can!" she shouted, rebuking the few familiar faces who'd survived the attack on town hall.
But there are some things sheer willpower and grit can't fix.
The fact was, her body had reached its limit from continually using Elemental Artes.
"Don't overdo it, Mayor Antelise," someone suddenly said to her as she cursed herself for neglecting her health too much for alcohol.
"Ugh, Sage Moltar."
The man who'd appeared behind her without her realizing it was the elder sage Mynoghra had sent. His infamous name was one of the most feared of all the Dark Elves who'd made a living as assassins. Antelise couldn't help being anxious when someone from the horror stories of her childhood suddenly showed up, even if he was there as reinforcements from an ally nation.
"Hoho! It makes me uncomfortable when you go rigid like that!"
His merry belly laugh made him seem just like a good-natured old man, if you could overlook the way he carried himself like a trained assassin who could kill you in the blink of an eye. Antelise just couldn't feel comfortable around him when she could sense the evil at his core.
"Please hold off on abandoning the town just yet. Mynoghra's army has been dispatched to handle defense…"
"But Sage Moltar, we're massively outnumbered even with your forces. We're not even close to their numbers!" Antelise shouted at her ally for interfering in her decision.
Requests from an ally nation shouldn't be outright rejected. But they were in a state of emergency. She could never plead for enough forgiveness if the townspeople were slaughtered because she pandered to their allies.
Antelise didn't become mayor for the fame or money. Even if it resulted in bad blood between nations, she wouldn't go back on her decision now. Steely resolve gleamed in her green eyes.
"Sage Moltar, I can't accept your request."
But her unshakeable resolve was dispersed by yet another interruption.
"GYEGHYEE!"
"Hm? Who is— What the?! GYAAAAAAH! B-BIG BBUUUUUUUGGGG!"
"Gyee?"
Several giant bugs suddenly surrounded her. They had mantislike bodies and big, restlessly rolling eyeballs. Antelise nearly fainted before these creatures that dripped sticky, black fluid from their triangular mouths.
.
----------->
.
The soldiers guarding Antelise drew their weapons— "Oooh, my mighty king! I'm grateful for the reinforcements!"
Elder Moltar cried out in delight before they could attack, finally making Antelise and her men realize these giant bugs belonged to Mynoghra.
"Sage…wh-what are they…?"
"Long-legged Bugs… They're the handymen of our nation."
The Long-legged Bugs gently rocked back and forth in response. They were originally assigned to patrol the area around Dragontan and the Accursed Lands. Takuto had sent them as reinforcements to defend against the Barbarian horde because of their fast movement speed. The Long-legged Bug's high mobility really shined during emergencies like this.
Elder Moltar faced Antelise as he marveled at the magnitude of Takuto's ingenuity in redirecting the Long-legged Bugs to this new task.
"They normally serve as Scouts, but with Lady Isla's presence, they have sufficient Strength to participate in this battle."
There were more than a few words she didn't understand in this context, but Antelise was convinced Elder Moltar wasn't lying. The waves of power exuding from the Long-legged Bugs served as the greatest proof of all.
Dragontan's entire Town Defense Force wouldn't be able to take on the few bugs standing before them now. She had no doubt they'd be able to tear her apart as easily as silk with her meager combat abilities. But…that horrifying image also attested to their terrifying usefulness in this pinch, which encouraged her.
"It's my humble opinion that their presence will make it easier to protect the town."
"Gyegyeh!"
Their constantly darting eyeballs were restlessly observing the
Barbarian horde visible beyond the wall. Apparently, the Long-legged Bugs were gung-ho about their new mission and ready to jump into action at a moment's notice.
Just as Antelise was about to request Elder Moltar's assistance as the town mayor, he suddenly dropped to one knee and began holding a conversation with someone through some sort of magic.
"Hohoho! It's quite encouraging for these old bones to be granted command of the situation here."
"Sage Moltar, what are you—"
"Pardon me, Mayor. We have just received instructions from our king. We shall now declare war on the Barbarians and launch the first strike."
Antelise could only dumbly gape at him after hearing that. Everything was happening on an outrageous scale and proceeding at whiplash speeds. And things continued to charge ahead while she was still processing.
"All right, Long-legged Bugs…go teach those fools clinging to Dragontan just who they are up against."
"Gygee!!"
At Elder Moltar's orders, the Long-legged Bugs ran down the walls and joined the fray. Regaining some semblance of her sanity with those grotesque bugs gone, Antelise turned on Elder Moltar in a flurry.
"P-Please wait, Sage! It's too dangerous to take preemptive action against an army that large! Do you have a plan?!"
Her concerns were valid. The normal course of action would be for Mynoghra's expeditionary forces and Dragontan's Defense Force to hole up within the town and hold their ground until reinforcements arrived. How could he make this rash decision when the addition of the Long-legged Bugs was the only thing that lent their defense against the siege a modicum of possible success?
Declaring war was paramount to asking to be defeated. What was he thinking? Antelise wouldn't be convinced until he explained things to her. Except…
"Worry not, Lady Atou is joining the fray."
Elder Moltar explained the whole plan with that single comment.
"M-Miss Atou alone?! She can't do that! I'll send out some of our men to support her!"
"There's no need for that," Elder Moltar calmly turned down Antelise's panicked proposal.
"How is there not?! There are too many of them even for her!"
Antelise and Atou had already interacted several times. Antelise definitely acted awkward out of fear of the girl's inherent wickedness, but Atou had treated her with unfettered kindness. Frankly, Antelise held a relatively favorable opinion of her. So, as a kind person herself, she was naturally shocked and worried about Atou's deployment.
"Hohoho… I once shared the same misplaced worries as you,
Mayor."
However, Elder Moltar was telling her that her worry was misplaced.
"She is Mynoghra's prized Hero exactly because…"
Euphoria and absolute confidence gleamed in his elderly eyes.
What exactly had to happen to acquire that level of unshakeable trust?
What kind of insane power did one have to show to obtain that level of absolute fanaticism?
"…she never loses."
Antelise could only nod in response to Elder Moltar's proclamation.
How did he perceive her response? Either way, once he saw her nod, he climbed onto the battlement and silently raised his staff in the air.
"Then it's about time for these old bones to do their part."
Dense magical power instantly gathered around him. Antelise instinctively backed away from the presence of darkness unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. Glimpsing her move out of the corner of his eye, Elder Moltar swung his staff down in the direction of the Barbarian horde clustering in front of the town.
"Ruin Magic: Cursed Terrain."
The ground shook with a rumbling boom as a nauseating level of evil drifted in from the distance. The land was being polluted. The sky stagnated and the earth decayed.
Everything alive in the land was cursed, while those of the darkness were blessed. This was the moment when Mynoghra's highly esteemed Military Magic was first used in real combat.
"What is this…?!"
"Let's just call it a…state secret. In any case, we don't have the time to talk at length about such things."
Elder Moltar's subordinates gathered around him when he raised his hand. As he said, there was little time for idle chitchat now that the battle had begun. Antelise could hear an altogether different kind of monstrous roar on the gusts of rotten wind blowing her way.
"I'm heading out with my subordinates to offer backup. Please send a runner if anything comes up. Until later."
Antelise couldn't get a word in edgewise before Elder Moltar left like the wind.
As far as she understood it, the Barbarian horde boasted overwhelming numbers. Although she knew Atou was strong, she doubted the young woman could take a horde on alone. But then Antelise recalled the crazy incident from the other day—she recalled the freakish monsters the twins brought as escorts on their first mission. She remembered how those monstrosities skinned Vesta's henchmen like they were playing dress-up.
The words Caria, the girl who'd comforted Antelise in her state of panic, had said stuck with her to this day. She said that those birdmen were Medics. Their primary purpose was to heal sick or injured soldiers, not fight.
If monsters that embodied terror were simply Medics in Mynoghra, then what kind of abomination was their Hero?
Mynoghra, the country where monsters with terrifying power reside. Just how powerful of a being would be revered as the Hero of the King of Ruin's people?
And here Antelise thought she was finally starting to become desensitized to the craziness that was Mynoghra. Realizing she'd barely scratched the surface when it came to understanding them, Antelise was so dumbstruck that her mouth fell open and she forgot to give orders.
The angry roar in the distance grew even louder. She could tell two enormously powerful forces were clashing even from this distance.
The sky and ground were rotten, and the Elementals were quaking with fear.
It was there, in that noxious space, where the powerful weapon Mynoghra revered as a Hero was wielding her strength. There she took on an entire army all alone as if it were the natural course of things.
"Is this…is this the real Mynoghra?"
Mayor Antelise could only mutter those stunned words.
◇◇◇
A monster had appeared.
"OOOOOOOoooooooohhh!!"
Ice Rock's battle-axe struck the ground, sending broken stone fragments at Atou like sharpened bullets. Atou dodged his attack with the grace of an acrobat and eyed him with an amused smile as she methodically swung her Holy Sword.
I see. So he's a melee boss, eh?
Atou calmly analyzed her opponent as her whipping tentacles helped her maintain a safe distance from him.
How do his stats translate into Strength? He's from an RPG, so he must operate under completely different mechanics and power balancing. Any misstep in my assessment of him here will cost me. That much is certain.
But Atou was up against a character from a game with an emphasis on one-on-one combat. She was on a decidedly different scale from him as a character designed for military-scale combat. In fact, Takuto's explanation before the battle proved to be truer by the minute.
The Holy Sword she spun in a circle effortlessly deflected the battle-axe's cranium-smashing blows. His redirected battle-axe sliced through the air and slammed into the ground as she danced away from his relentless strikes. At first glance, it seemed as if Atou was only defending against Ice Rock's attacks, but reality proved far crueler than that.
"GYAAAGH!"
"URGGH!"
"PGYAH!"
While Ice Rock was trying to smash the dancing Atou with his axe, countless tentacles sprouted from her back. He prepared for them to attack him, but they instead shot out at lightning speed to take down his subordinates watching at a distance. Clicking his tongue, he sliced off the tentacles to stop her from killing his troops, but Atou took that opening to thrust her sword at him, forcing him to quickly shift his battle-axe back to defend himself.
Grr! This wench's keeping me rooted here! Ice Rock groaned internally. He understood exactly what his opponent was doing.
Ice Rock was currently the only member of the Phon'kaven Conquest Army with overwhelming combat strength. Put another way, aside from him and his few demon subordinates, the army was made up of squishy monsters that would scatter without a leader. Pinning him down here would put his army at an immediate disadvantage.
Monsters that act on instinct aren't suited to military action. They don't even possess the basic intelligence to think and act on their own. An army of monsters without a commander is weaker than even a pack of wild beasts. Thus, the best way to take them down is to take out the brains of the operation.
However, Ice Rock was confident enough in his own ability to know that that was easier said than done. And that was exactly why he felt threatened by Atou, who was pulling that feat off alone.
"Gutless coward! Fight me fair and square!"
"Haha! Are those really the words of the Demon Lord's general? Please don't make me laugh too much. I would hate to swing and miss."
Atou didn't fall for his petty provocation. She was both physically and mentally not a good match for Ice Rock.
…I don't have many demons here. I must prevent their loss at all costs. Panic started to show on his face of ice.
Meanwhile, Atou also understood the nature of the Demon Lord's Army and prioritized eliminating the intelligent demons. The battlefield was currently Cursed Terrain due to wide-scale Ruin Magic. She just had to eliminate the demons, then all that would be left was cleaning up the weakened neutral monsters, which would be easy work for the strengthened Long-legged Bugs and Elder Moltar's Dark Elf squad.
The only element of concern was the enemy demons, who were strengthened by the Cursed Terrain, but they were successfully pinned down by Atou per Takuto's orders.
Atou snickered to herself as she felt great respect for Takuto's highly effective strategy despite their lack of time to prepare. If things kept going this way, she'd effectively carry out his strategy.
But Ice Rock was a high-ranking demon who bore the title and responsibilities of one of the Four Generals of the Demon Lord's Army. He wasn't going to let things end this easily.
"Frostfangs! Come!"
Werewolves with bodies of ice and silver fur appeared out of nowhere at Ice Rock's call. Unusually long tongues extended from their blood-red maws, and their jagged, sharp teeth and steel-like claws set them apart from the other monsters on the field.
Interesting. I take it that's a play on the Infinite Summons skill bosses tend to have? Atou thought. What an annoyingly RPG-like ability.
The summoned Frostfangs leaped at Atou from all directions. She calmly redirected her tentacles from mowing down the nearby demons to intercepting their attack.
A considerable amount of time had passed since her battle with Qualia's Paladins. In addition to Hero units from Eternal Nations leveling up over time, Atou had also plundered various skills from her enemies. It was only after being strengthened by his Holy Sword Artes that the High Paladin, renowned for his unparalleled strength, was just barely able to chop off one of Atou's tentacles. Measly summoned monsters, even those summoned by one of the Demon Lord's generals, stood no chance against multiple tentacles.
"RAAAUGGHH! YIIP!"
Tentacles stronger than steel pierced right through the
Frostfang's tough hide, ending its life in a single strike. Atou sensed something was amiss as she watched the monster vanish into a gold coin.
That's weird… Only two take part in the same battle?
Ice Rock had summoned a total of five Frostfangs. She'd just skewered one to death, so there were four left. But, strangely enough, only two ever stayed within combat range of her. When one was destroyed, the other jumped in to replace it.
They fight exactly the way they do in their game.
Just as Atou was limited to the parameters of a 4x turn-based strategy game, the enemies before her seemed equally bound to the rules governing the role-playing game they originated from.
Game characters are being sent to another world…and from completely different games, at that.
Although she was suspicious about what was going on, Atou concentrated on the enemy in front of her as that took precedence. She was in the middle of a fight, after all. Not even she felt confident enough about her fare in this battle to connect telepathically with Takuto for a lengthy talk about what was going on.
"Why're ye getting in our way?! Aren't ye of the darkness as well? Lay down yer blade and offer allegiance to our Demon Lord so that we can conquer the world together!" Ice Rock tried to sway Atou even as he brandished his battle-axe at her.
He just couldn't understand why she would be their enemy when she was so powerful and so like them. His invitation was also secretly a plea because he was beginning to sense his defeat was nigh.
But Sludge Atou of Eternal Nations was indifferent to his overture when she'd already experienced conquering the world and leading it to ruin more times than there were stars in the sky.
A blank look fell over her face as if he'd just spoken to her in a foreign language.
"Ah, you're after world domination?"
"Most unequivocally. We're going to create a world for demons.
We'll eradicate humanity and make our name ubiquitous in this land. The glorious and prosperous age of darkness shall come!"
Ice Rock spoke passionately as if he were reciting a speech. He was completely open to attack, and Atou's tentacle could easily pierce his ice cranium if she struck now.
Isn't it considered taboo to attack a character during a transformation scene or a lengthy speech when it comes to RPGs? Atou thought and decided to kindly reply to him instead of cutting his talk short by killing him then and there.
"I can understand the temptation, but what will you do after you conquer the world?"
Ice Rock's brain froze with that unexpected query.
Atou sighed at his reaction and expanded on her question like she was talking to an imbecile.
"As it is, I'm already buried under a tiresome mountain of work, you know? I'm even giving up my precious time with my king to get a handle on everything. This is how bad it is just running one smallish empire… And what, you want the whole freakin' world? Do you like administrative work THAT much?" she asked.
World domination was a lofty ideal, and Atou could understand it as a means to an end. Building your own ideal world after exterminating all your enemies isn't that strange of a goal, and it's a kind of utopia many leaders have dreamed of. Atou had of course achieved that very thing with Takuto on countless occasions.
But world conquest was always the means to an end—not the actual end itself.
What do you gain after you conquer the world?
What will you do after that?
Those were the things that mattered more the conquering itself.
But Ice Rock had a hard time answering her. He'd never actually given any real thought to what came after world domination aside from vague, theatrical notions of how it should be. He desperately racked his brain for an answer until he realized he had none whatsoever.
"Hmm? Could it be your character backstory is so shallow that your thoughts and actions default to the most simpleminded ones?" Atou said with a contemptuous look when he failed to answer her. "Well, I guess most RPG bosses don't get any more storyline after you defeat them, do they? You poor thing."
Brave Questers is an old-school, trope-laden JRPG. Often cited as the first computer RPG, it has a long history that has seen it remade with every new video game console. Although every remake gets some new features, the story tends to faithfully follow the original's core layout and conventions.
The story is always incredibly simple, likely to feed off of player nostalgia, making it the complete opposite type of game from Eternal Nations, which adds depth to its game world with vast amounts of flavor text.
Thus, Frost General Ice Rock's flavor text was limited to nothing more than just "A melee boss with a warrior's spirit."
"What's this nonsense ye speak of?! What're ye trying to say?!" Ice Rock shouted. All he could do was shout.
He couldn't comprehend even half of what the girl was saying, but what he did understand was that it was lethal to him. Burning unease consumed him like a wildfire. His heart of ice accelerated as if to drive home that uneasiness, and frigid white air poured off his body in the place of sweat.
Atou exhaled another long-long-suffering sigh upon witnessing his mounting panic.
"You're…even stupider than I thought."
"What did ye just say to me?!"
The weighty battle-axe's edge gleamed as it moved up and swept down. Following the trajectory of that storm-like strike with both eyes, Atou spun her sword once and sliced upward, meeting the blow head-on. Sparks flew as metal clashed against metal.
Utter shock widened Ice Rock's cold eyes, and Atou flashed a wicked smile.
When Atou snatched the Holy Sword Artes from the veteran High Paladin, she also obtained his Observing Eye skill, which allowed her to roughly grasp the skill and strength of her opponent after crossing blades only once. However, this only acted as a final confirmation of her opponent's ability. She'd already figured out what he was made of from their initial confrontation.
In other words, he was easily managed at this level.
Atou determined that while he was indeed stronger than the Paladins she'd fought before, he wasn't much of a threat to her now.
"Holy Sword Artes are a god-tier skill Qualia's made-up god created to eradicate evil pests like you. What do you think? Frightening just to look at, isn't it?" she taunted.
"Ghh! How can a demon like ye wield such a skill?! Did ye become God's bitch?!"
"No, the gods have nothing to do with technology trees. This is just one of many skills up for the taking."
Atou had a very cut-and-dry manner of thinking. Takuto always came first and foremost. Everything else, whether it be supernatural or otherwise, held little interest to her. Thus, she'd enthusiastically make use of whatever technology and skills she could without caring whether it originated from holy gods or debase demons. This was why she could interact with the Dark Elves without conflict and make the most of the Holy Sword Artes.
Everything was for Takuto.
However, her diamond-like conviction and indifference toward everything and everyone rubbed Ice Rock the wrong way.
A frigid blizzard sharp enough to tear the skin apart shot out from the Frostfang's maw as if it were trying to cut into their conversation. Atou spun elegantly out of the way and sent a single tentacle straight through the Frostfang's open mouth. A gold coin flopped onto the cold ground with a sad clang that rang throughout the battlefield.
They may be easy fodder, but there's a lot of them. A drawn-out battle will put too great a burden on the Long-legged Bugs and Defense Force. I can't take things the fun and slow way, Atou thought.
The Long-legged Bugs received massive buffs from the Cursed Terrain and Isla's passive skills. Low-leveled monsters might not hold a candle to them, but they were still just Scout units. The risk of taking damage and getting destroyed increased the longer the battle dragged on.
A battle of attrition would be even harder on Dragontan's Defense Force and Elder Moltar's Dark Elf troops. Although they were primarily using long-ranged attacks from the baileys, they'd eventually need to take to the field to get rid of the monsters littering the town's perimeter. And when they did clash, the differences in latent Strength between Humanoid races and monsters would make for a hard fight.
Atou finally decided to annihilate Ice Rock. Now that she'd seen what he was made of mentally and physically, she doubted his destruction would lead to any disadvantageous circumstances. She switched her grip on the Holy Sword, completely changing the aura she gave off.
"You said there's a Demon Lord, yes?" she asked.
She'd already wiped out the last of the Frostfangs. She'd taken care of them while having that lengthy conversation with Ice Rock.
There was a set cool-down time before Ice Rock could summon more, and that was by no means a short amount of time when it came to an active battlefield. He was on course to being completely crushed. He couldn't even use the Frostfangs as bait to aid his escape anymore.
Ice Rock regretted the careless misstep that led him to underestimate his opponent's strength based on appearances. He needed to request the assistance of all the generals—nay, even the Demon Lord's presence may be necessary to deal with his current foe.
His thoughts went to the wretched Hero who'd thoroughly annihilated the Demon Lord's Army and eventually drove their blade through the Demon Lord's heart. And then there was the evil girl Atou, who attacked regardless of his attempts at persuasion. The Hero and the girl were completely different in appearance and disposition, yet…they seemed eerily similar enough in Ice Rock's eyes.
"Why are your people trying to conquer the world? Out of instinct? Or of your own volition? Have you ever wondered why a hero always stands in your way?"
A beguiling voice gnawed at Ice Rock as if it were burrowing into his core and chiseling chunks out of his cold heart. Every fiber of his being screamed out in instinctual warning, but his body felt as heavy as lead.
"A hero appears over and over again, bringing about your ruin every time. The same thing repeats endless—"
"SILENCE! SILENCE! SILENCE!"
Ice Rock screamed. He screamed like a pathetic creature. He'd lost his presence of mind in a way most unbefitting for one of the Four Generals who served the Demon Lord, but fortunately and unfortunately, he no longer had any intelligent subordinates left to witness his shame.
"You've realized it, haven't you? You can't not have realized it by now. If you are like us, then you should have all the memories. Oooh! That expression! I love it! So that's what an evil monster that attacks humanity and heroes looks like when it's in despair! Pure perfection!"
It only took one or two spins for the girl to effortlessly repel Ice Rock's madly swinging battle-axe.