Chapter 608 — Arc 9, Chapter 20 – “How to Use a Life”

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A streak of light pierced the pitch-blackness, and a flicker of hope filled their heart.

The inevitable end that loomed just ahead felt like it could be resisted, pushed away, escaped, which filled their heart with hope.

However, that’s wrong, you are not that strong.

I had thought, I knew that you weren’t strong. ―― I really did.

Without knowing anything about the truth, I just kept pecking away at the seconds you gave me, like a baby bird begging for food, without realizing what was being sacrificed for each second.

???: [Emilia…?]

Your excited heart beat violently as if you were doused with cold water.

From behind the veil as black as darkness itself, a face that should not have been seen peeked through.

Long eyelashes, beautiful amethyst eyes, well-shaped features, pale pink lips, she was so lovely.

Behind that veil, a face that should have been the most detestable was the same as the most beloved.

???: [――Hk.]

With that moment of hesitation, their freedom was stripped away, and even their soul was trapped in a cage of eternal obsession.

The way to reject it is in your hand, that white piece of cloth wrapped in light.

Stop! I yelled, the strongest I ever have.

Make them stop! I implored, the strongest I ever have.

Make it all stop! I begged, the strongest I ever have.

All of it was too late, all of it was beyond my control, all of it was――,

???: [I, no matter what――]

――Will definitely save you.

With that determination and vow within your heart―― “I” killed you, Natsuki Subaru.

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――Upon impact, Aldebaran’s body was completely crushed as he hovered in the air.

Having relied upon the steel threads wound around the trees to prop him up, his body was struck by a mighty fist that seemed to be around the size of his own head.

Those knuckles, akin to a large boulder, were connected to arms befittingly as thick as logs, and those arms likewise extended out from a torso clad in a bulky, dignified armor of muscle. That body was wrapped in a black suit out of place on the battlefield, worn by an enormous pig-faced man――,

Pig-Face: [You don’t whine like a pig, do you?]

Voicing a worthless joke in a low growl, the pig-faced man snorted his pig-snout.

Standing nigh two meters tall, whilst also weighing in at no less than two-hundred kilograms, pig-face had jumped up into the air, closing in on Aldebaran like a cannonball, striking him with a fierce blow.

A perfectly enacted surprise attack; it was but a miracle that he had not died instantly―― nay, this was no miracle.

???: […In that sorry state, might your arm be headed for tonight’s dinner table?]

To Aldebaran’s side as he basked in the fierce punch, Yae muttered with an emotionless expression.

What she saw in those narrowed eyes of hers, was pig-face’s outstretched arm―― the fist that had slammed into Aldebaran was being diced up from the finger upwards.

Yae’s steel wires, strung up throughout the air, had caught pig-face’s fist head-on, and with the brute strength of his huge body, he had hewn his own arm on the tenacious steel wire.

Consequently, Aldebaran had escaped an instant death, and pig-face had lost an arm.

However――,

Pig-Face: [I suppose so. I’ll feed it to my underlings as a show of gratitude. Though their diets are unbalanced and full of fat.]

Yae: [Kyaa~, I love demi-human jokes that make fun of their own tribe! By the way, I recommend stewing meat that’s high in fat.]

Pig-Face: [Very well, we’ll stew it in a pot of your blood.]

Both pig-face, having lost an arm, and Yae, whose trump card had been surmounted by sheer force, were calm on the surface, but fostered an extremity of murderous intent in their eyes, exchanging it tactfully.

Doing so, they conversed on a level above that of those released from the yoke of common men, but Aldebaran, who remained on a level below, was already at his limit.

His body leaned against a large tree as he slid on the thread without falling, and unable to manifest the strength to support himself, he entered free fall.

He had escaped an instant death, but unfortunately his head had been smashed in, and within his helmet were likely various things sloshing around that must not be spilled outward.

Of course, since he could not progress any further in such a state――,

Aldebaran: [Yaeh.]

Like so, he called out to Yae with lips unable to articulate properly.

The next instant, a steel thread wrapped around Aldebaran’s neck as he plummeted, and braced taut―― as his field of vision greatly snapped, Aldebaran’s head bid a tearful farewell to his body.

To ensure he would not suffer an unexpected defeat, even if Aldebaran failed to take his own life, he had arranged for Yae to function as a safety valve to activate his Authority.

Aldebaran: [――――]

Simultaneous to ascertaining this method’s effectiveness, Aldebaran witnessed the world spinning around him, and focused his mind on “what lay ahead”.

And then――,

Aldebaran: [Nekst.]

×　　×　　×

???: [――AL GOA!!]

An incantation that rang out as an angered bellow, and following that, the bright red swell of a second sun―― or rather the papier-mâché fireball that feigned itself so had the faint spread of its flames be as frail as the paper nets used in goldfish scooping.

At a closer look, it lacked sufficient control, and if they had just waited three short seconds, it would scatter and disappear, such was the shoddiness of this masquerade―― however, when thrown into the midst of a hecticly progressing battle on a makeshift battlefield, it worked as a fine stratagem.

Aldebaran: [Old man! That’s a fake――]

Heinkel: [Uwoahhhhhh!!]

As a corollary of that, and since it was right after he returned, Aldebaran’s call for restraint did not make it in time.

Alarm bells ringing in his head, Heinkel panicked and pulled on the steel threads, firing the loaded fallen tree cannons one after another directly towards the faux Al Goa.

Since he could not stop it, the outcome of that remained the same. ――Internally, he clicked his tongue. Not at Heinkel who had been unable to listen, nor at Rachins who had covered up his inexperience with guts; he was angry at himself for messing up.

As of its explosion, lackluster as it was betraying its appearance, the two people other than the cheating Aldebaran were likewise made aware of the enemy’s masquerade.

Regardless of his lamentation, it was already too late, and unable to stop the vigor of the incoming enemies, Aldebaran relied on Yae’s strength, thwarting their charge with a cage of steel threads as they had done before.

However, to make sure that this time did not end up the same as the last, he did not escape up into the trees, but instead deliberately jumped backwards, and changed course to standing beside Heinkel.

Thus, this time would――,

???: [――What, dull as a pig, you are.]

He had been readied for the blow to come, but it had arrived from directly above him together with some cruel dark humor. Socked right in the head by an intense strike, Aldebaran’s head was buried in the dirt floor of the forest.

He had changed his position. He had exercised caution. And yet, it had all been painted over by an attack from above.

Heinkel: [Wha, ah!? Where the hell did… Gohakh!]

???: [Don’t cry like a pig. You’ll be put on display at the butcher’s.]

Flying in with the force of a missile, while bearing wounds all over his body from the steel threads, the bloodied pig-faced man swung his arm, slamming Heinkel, unable to do a thing, into a large tree behind him.

Buried in the ground, it seemed like Aldebaran’s spine had been broken, his resolve to fight unable to reach his limbs. It sounded like Yae had jumped down and had begun to clash with pig-face, but he could not even lift his head to watch that unfold.

Only, a suspicion in need of verification was born. ――Whether he was in the air, or on the ground, pig-face would somehow come to strike Aldebaran first.

Carrying naught but that information――,

Aldebaran: [――Next.]

Before he could analyze Yae in the air, Aldebaran swallowed his poison on his own.

A fierce, sweltering heat lethally scorched Aldebaran to naught from his throat and organs――,

×　　×　　×

???: [――AL GOA!!]

???: [Uwoahhhhhh!!]

Fearful of the fake sun, a futile resistance was fired in the form of large trees; with that in the corner of his eyes, Aldebaran quickly examined his surroundings, and searched for a new place to take refuge that was neither in the air nor on the ground.

Verification, was necessary. ――To ensure he did not relinquish what little chance of a best course of action he had.

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――Seventy-three times.

The matrix resumed from the point when the faux Al Goa was launched into the sky; what Aldebaran had grasped from performing verification on this from various angles, was that no matter where he tried to run or hide, the pig-faced man’s burly arm would reliably come to pulverize him each and every time.

That was to say――,

Aldebaran: [My exact position’s being leaked.]

Regardless if he was beside Yae or beside Heinkel, if he was on the ground or floating in the air or in the shade of a tree or if he tried to get away from the battlefield, Aldebaran could not escape the pig-faced man’s fist.

A punch enacted with the resolve to lose an arm was difficult to defend against even with Yae’s Steel Thread Technique. ――Of course, if it was just a matter of surviving the first blow, such a feat would be possible via the combination of Yae’s steel threads and Aldebaran’s magic.

However, even if he withstood a single punch, there remained another arm, and two legs if necessary. And, pig-face was made of such mettle that he would always kill his opponent, no matter how many limbs he lost.

Neither pain nor loss would serve as a reason for pig-face to halt his step.

Having said that, even when Aldebaran made an effort to extract a little personal information out of him――,

Pig-Face: [――Don’t pipe and squeal like a little piggy.]

Pulverized by that brief utterance, he was not willing to listen in the slightest.

From Aldebaran’s experience, the most troublesome opponents were those who had fully decided what they needed to do, hardened in their resolve, and stubbornly unwilling to budge.

Against people like this, Aldebaran’s trial and error would lose all meaning. After all, people who had decided to kill him no matter what they were offered in exchange, would assuredly kill him, no matter what he might offer in exchange.

Hence, in order to greatly shift the circumstances, he needed an impetus that would bring about a great shift.

Aldebaran: [First of all, how’s he getting ahold of my location?]

In order to relentlessly pursue Aldebaran, and reliably kill him, some sort of method was being employed.

To begin with, despite having used the Divine Dragon as a diversion, it was unnatural that Aldebaran’s party was being chased around in the forest like this.

If he did not expose the method that perfected this encirclement here and now, then even if he evaded pig-face, and set Felt’s group out of the way, a second and a third arrow would be fired, and his seven days would be squandered.

In order to prevent that from happening――,

Pig-Face: [――What, dull as a pig, you are.]

As pig-face’s familiar yet worthless joke arrived alongside his fist, this time Aldebaran’s cervical vertebrae was shattered after he had attempted to use Rachins as a meat shield.

Side note, just before his stream of consciousness was cut off, he caught in the corner of his eye a glimpse of Rachins suffering miserably as he was caught up in the blow――,

×　　×　　×

???: [――AL GOA!!]

???: [Uwoahhhhhh!!]

The feigned great magic rose into the sky, and with alarm bells ringing in his head, Heinkel acted immediately.

Catching the familiar sight of the fireball’s explosion in the corner of his eye, Aldebaran summoned Yae, who wore an astonished expression at Heinkel’s rash behavior, and tightened a string different to the one for the cage that would have welcomed Rachins and the others.

A new steel thread launchpad, after firing many fallen trees up until this point, what it launched next was――,

Aldebaran: [PUUULL!!]

Bewildered, Heinkel did as he was told and pulled the thread, his mind having fallen into a state incapable of thinking. With the propulsion gained from his remarkable physical strength, it was the duo of Aldebaran and Yae who drew a parabola as they flew into the sky.

Feeling as if he had been released from the forces of wind and gravity, Aldebaran soared over the treetops with Yae clutched in his single arm, fleeing from the battlefield onto which Rachins and his squadron were storming.

Left by his lonesome in that place, Heinkel would likely be mobbed by Rachins and the others, but this attempt was a throwaway in order to ascertain something he wished to ascertain.

Amidst this verification, he would turn a blind eye to Heinkel’s noble sacrifice.

Yae: [Don’t bite your tongue, please~!]

As he glanced back at Heinkel, feeling guilty for deserting him, Yae swung her arms while held in his arm.

Her wrists were slender, and upon each of her even more slender fingers were fitted undecorative rings, from which superfine threads of steel extended, barely visible even to strained eyes.

The shinobi were known to possess preeminent abilities, and among them she was the only one who had mastered the Steel Thread Technique―― maneuvering it to perfection, Yae affixed threads to the trees ahead of them as they soared, and they rapidly gained distance as they drew arcs swinging on ropes like Tarzan.

However――,

Aldebaran: [――Hk.]

Swinging with all their might, Aldebaran and Yae went through the escape path that had been guided by the smoke―― that was to say, a region still mercilessly enshrouded in white fumes.

Forcing their way through with steel threads, Aldebaran and Yae went against the current of the white smoke that had chased them out, flying to ascertain one final thing after a series of verifications.

Only, even if they crossed distance at a speed incomparable to that of running on the ground, the only chance they had to breathe was at the highest point of their swing, the moment in which they broke past above the treetops, outside the smoke.

Moreover, the more they progressed the more difficult that became, and as the smoke grew taller and more dense, the agony that gave no quarter began to encroach on his lungs, his eyeballs, his every membrane.

If they recklessly swung around like this, setting aside the superhuman that was Yae, Aldebaran, equipped with naught but mediocre specs, would be done in by the smoke immediately.

Hence, he would have to carefully determine their destination, or else――,

Aldebaran: [――Northwest.]

Bringing his mouth up to Yae’s ear as she extended steel threads and swung, he directed her so.

His target was northwest, no doubt about it. ――After all, he had already checked all the other directions.

Unable to draw out the right answer until the very end of the end, luck had truly abandoned him in all regards. Not once in his whole life had he ever thought himself blessed by fortune.

Aldebaran: […No, there was just one time.]

――The fact that he had happened upon her, was undoubtedly Aldebaran’s one and only fortune. Even now that he had lost her, he did not think that meeting her had been a mistake.

Aldebaran: [――Hk.]

Enduring the strong emotions surging up in his chest, he firmly clenched his teeth, and in that moment the situation changed.

Tearing through the white smoke in their swing, the moment they broke out above the trees, throwing stones came flying from outside the smoke at a ferocious pace, aimed at the airborne Aldebaran and Yae.

Simple stones, as a barrage of them closed in with ridiculous strength, Aldebaran promptly created a wall of earth, overcoming the first wave by sheer force.

But, the stones would likely only continue to come. So, before that could happen, he would split off.

Yae: [――Al-sama!!]

Yae’s shrill voice reverberated in his helmet, and feeling his eardrums go numb, Aldebaran lost his connection to her midair, and was thrown high up into the sky.

At the highest point of their swing, he was sent flying even higher up by Yae.

Aldebaran: [OHHHHHH――!!]

Bellowing, he covered his frontside with an earthen wall as he soared, charging to meet the stones head-on.

Having lost his stability, he could not make the earthen wall thick or weighty, so it was brittle; it would not protect him any more than a blanket would against the oncoming stones.

But, even so, Aldebaran had escaped the white smoke, and had once again exited the forest.

He had escaped to the plain where he had first received the declaration of war, and had basked in a thorough blow from Grassis, who thus succeeded in her vengeance for her elder sister.

And, present there just as Aldebaran had hoped――,

???: [――Come ta subdue the leader on yer own, have ya? Ain’t that a piss-poor plan ya’d arrive at faster by countin’ up from yer worst options?]

Below Aldebaran as he flew out from the white smoke, the bald old giant spoke while looking up at him. ――A person whose long, burly arms of a giant, were equipped with gauntlets each fitted with several Conversation Mirrors.

Witnessing that, it finally clicked. ――All of these traps had been schemed by this old giant.

Aldebaran: [So you were the brain…!]

There was far too much of a gap between his appearance and the image of his position, so he never would have guessed.

Rachins’s appearance was very much like a thug, but Aldebaran would have been less surprised to hear that he was the military strategist. Normally, giants were in charge of the front lines, where they could best leverage their physical attributes. For one to work as the brain―― this also went for Ezzo, but for that to have been the case for both a dwarf and a giant was too much.

As his head flooded with such useless badmouthing, Aldebaran realized.

Aldebaran: [Lil’ Miss Felt――]

Was nowhere to be found on the plain. ――This, too, was a serious blow to Aldebaran.

Naturally, putting an end to this battle by completely wiping out five-hundred enemies was by no means realistic. Hence, as an objective that was possible to achieve, capturing Felt had always been present in Aldebaran’s mind. That possibility had been completely blocked by the opposition.

It was a matter of course, but the most obvious victory condition for him, would also have been the most obvious defeat condition for the opposition. Loathe to say, it made sense for Felt to fall back.

Aldebaran: [Shit.]

Aldebaran’s victory would not waver. That was settled.

Therefore, all that remained was to search for the key to victory, and yet.

???: [You, don’t be looking off to the side now!!]

Aldebaran: [――Hk!]

The moment he updated his victory condition in his head, an impact pierced him from directly above that head of his.

The audible voice was thick, but the words cast to him were not the familiar joke of pig-face. From what he could see, it was the thug with the large build―― Gaston, who had jumped up to Aldebaran’s flank, above even the white smoke, and had joined his hands together to swing down and deliver a crushing blow.

Aldebaran: [Seri… ously…?]

At the attack of an opponent who had unmistakably mastered the Flow Method, Aldebaran cried out in pain.

The Flow Method could not be mastered by any ordinary training, and was the barrier that determined whether one could become a first-rate warrior. At the addition of a threat who could wield that technique, Aldebaran revised his evaluation of the opponent whose strength he had underestimated.

As he revised it, that strike knocked him into the ground.

Aldebaran: [Gah, guohhhh…!]

Immediately failing to brace himself, his clumsy impact to the ground fractured his right elbow. In agony over the pointless pain induced by the broken bone piercing through his flesh and skin, Aldebaran grazed his helmet across the ground.

It hurts, it hurts, hurts hurts hurts hurts hurts, hurts, it hurts, but I’ve seen, what I wanted to see.

Aldebaran: [From here on out, it’ll be a battle of wits, between you, and me… Hk.]

Grinding his teeth to the extent that they cracked, with the sensation of magnifying anguish as the smoke permeated his lungs, he opened the package of poison with his tongue in a motion he was well accustomed to.

The smoke was far too thick, and it was quite possible that he might almost cough out the poison. By no means did he think that old giant had aimed that far, but the fact that he was having so many unfavorable draws was a problem.

He had no choice but to overcome this unfavorable tide. Thus, searching for the path to victory that ought to have been somewhere, searching, searching searching searching searching searchingsearchingsearchsearchsearchsearchsearsearsearchch―― ah.

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???: [――No need to add anymore pyro tree logs. Any further and there’s a fear that the opponent could take advantage of it. It’ll be just right if they find our plan a little unsatisfactory.]

Instructing the end of the strategy to drive them out with smoke, Valga Cromwell―― no, the former Great Strategist of the Demi-Human Alliance now known as Rom-jii, worked his elderly head as hard as he could.

Completing the encirclement of the deceased Priscilla Barielle’s former Knight, who had won himself the popular nickname of “Helmet Bastard”, all that remained was to carefully reel the opponent in. However, they needed to be on guard.

This opponent had devised a plan that employed the Divine Dragon Volcanica and the Witch of Envy to suppress the Sword Saint, Reinhard van Astrea. He could not help but admire such an ingenious scheme.

But then again, the presence of such a dangerous and cunning “enemy” was exactly what Rom-jii had hoped for.

Many giants were of an exceedingly belligerent and rough nature, and their instincts sought battles of boiling blood and throbbing flesh―― it was not for any such foolish reason.

What he desired was a peril that shook the Kingdom, and the prestige of removing its presence.

――For Felt to win and advance in the Royal Selection, she was in need of renown gained in the absence of the Sword Saint.

The Royal Candidates repelling the great cataclysm brought about by the Witch Cult in the Watergate City of Pristella was an event still fresh in his memory, but the result of that had been the stocks of each of the five candidates rising by an equal amount.

Their relative standings in the Royal Selection would not change. Hence, Felt would need to gain achievements independently.

The actions of this helmet bastard were capable of shaking not just the Royal Selection, but the entire world, and thus would prove sufficient for such an achievement.

Rom: [‘Course, Felt prolly ain’t thinkin’ ‘bout that sorta thing.]

After all, the reason Felt stood to take on the helmet bastard right here right now, was not for any long-term outlook that included such calculations, but because she had the power to fight off the imminently approaching peril; that, and for the sake of her one and only Knight, who bore the duty of being the first one to hasten into such situations.

Hence, it was fine that the only ones scheming to benefit from this situation later were himself, who was rather underhanded in contrast to his large body, and the dirty adults who controlled the criminal underworld.

The three notorious organizations of the Ground Dragon Capital of Flanders, the Balance, the Flower Prison Garden, and the Black Silver Coin; by putting their ruffians to use, they would secure fruits of battle to win the crown for Felt.

――Initially, Rom-jii had taken a firm stance against Felt participating in the Royal Selection, against her getting involved in the center of something as large as the Kingdom of Lugunica.

For Rom-jii, who knew about Felt’s birth, about the karma of the blood that ran through her veins, it was a matter of course.

On the other hand, however, Rom-jii had continued to keep Felt in the Royal Capital. If he had felt so inclined, there had always been the option to bring Felt far out to live in the remote countryside before she gained awareness of herself or her surroundings.

Nevertheless, Rom-jii had not done so. He thought that likely, that had been due to a premonition he had fostered deep down in his heart. ――That a large, unavoidable undulation would eventually catch up to them both.

When that time came, if he could be by Felt’s side, he would wield his pointlessly large body to its utmost capability, and carry out the duty of shield or armor or aught else required.

However, there was a sufficient possibility that he would be unable. He had grown old. He could not yet feel any pressing emaciation, but even if he was a giant, it would be no strange affair for death to come knocking on his door hereafter.

For that reason, it was necessary. A guarantee that Felt―― that his adorable grandchild would be protected for the rest of eternity, was necessary.

If the promissory note for that meant the apex of the Kingdom, he would crown Felt himself.

For that purpose, he would not hesitate to once more swing the baton of command he had vowed to never swing again.

Rom: [Tho’ compared ta the past, my chances’ve decreased an awful lot… ta this day, the nightmares won’t lemme go.]

Almost half a century had passed, and the Demi-Human War was a distant memory.

Even so, throughout that long, long time, the embers of regret had only continued to simmer in a pot within Rom-jii. When he gained a chance to see the light of day, the lid of that pot was opened.

Back then, the foolish Valga Cromwell had been insufficient. ――Time had made up for that foolishness of his, and while his asininity remained unchanged, Rom-jii would wield his intellect.

That was to say――,

Rom: [This here’ll be a battle of wits between the helmet bastard and myself.]

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???: [――Are these… threads?]

The moment Rachins charged into the forest, his whole body was immediately entangled and restrained in extremely fine steel threads; as he spat out his frustrations, Aldebaran listened to him from a position within arms reach.

Aldebaran had deliberately exposed his position to his opponents, beckoning the enemies to rush toward him, ensnaring them right in his trap.

At the hand of Yae’s Steel Thread Technique, fifty-two enemies were bound.

He had already been associating with these enemies long enough that he had finished counting them all, but of course, it was not as though Yae had subdued them through simple physical strength.

Yae: [As you can see here, Yae-chan has slender arms, y’know? By using nearby trees, other obstacles, or even the bodies of the people in question as fulcrums, I’m suspending these guys with their feet still touching the ground.]

And so, Yae disclosed the trick that had been performed, but the gist of it was still unclear to those who had heard it.

At any rate, Rachins and his group were trapped in a web of steel threads coiled around many times over, and it would be nearly impossible for them to escape against Yae’s will; so long as that fact was clear, it was top-notch work.

On top of that, receiving a glare from the shihaku eyes of Rachins, who was powerless to move even with his target right before him, Aldebaran forcefully laid his hands on Rachins’s clothing and rummaged around in his pockets.

Rachins: [W-what the hell, you fuck!? I ain’t into this kinda thing…!]

Yae: [Wo~w, how bold of you, Al-sama! No wonder that you never seemed interested in Yae-chan no matter how much I enticed you. Coincident with this newfound understanding, my pride as a woman is rapidly being restored…]

Aldebaran: [Stop screwing around! There’s a mirror! Find the mirror! One of them has it… Old man, you search too!]

Holding down Rachins as he writhed in an attempt to escape, Aldebaran yelled at Yae and Heinkel, who then began shuffling through the belongings of the immobilized men, searching for the Conversation Mirror.

――The speed and accuracy of the transmission of information had the capability to change the nature of war.

Such a thing had been used in all manners of fiction from all over the world, past and present, but this concept that he had previously only vaguely understood at face value had finally hit home for Aldebaran.

The old giant, who served as the brain of this operation, had prepared gauntlets fitted with a multitude of Conversation Mirrors.

With that, the old giant had become the central commander of the group, and by exchanging information in real time, he was able to control all five-hundred fighters at will. If Aldebaran’s location and number of allies continued to be leaked in this way, his group would never have a moment to catch their breaths.

Therefore, it was essential to ensure that they shattered each unit’s Conversation Mirrors.

To that end――,

Aldebaran: [――Found it!]

Heinkel: [――Found it!]

Yae: [――Found it!]

Finding the sensation he sought at his fingertips, Aldebaran pulled it out and held it aloft, cheering―― but, his joy was drowned out by the voices of the other two, which were raised nearly simultaneously with his.

Letting out a “Ah?”, Aldebaran turned around and saw Yae and Heinkel, who had been conducting a search of the other ruffians while he was groping Rachins, staring with their eyes wide open.

――Both of them were holding a small mirror in their hands.

Aldebaran: [Conversation Mirrors are Meteors that can be replicated, but the cost would still be stupidly expensive…]

He understood why Rachins, who was most likely the commander of this unit, would have one.

He also understood why his aide would have one, not wanting to leave communications to the commander alone. But, he did not understand why anybody else would be carrying one.

No matter what, it would have been impossible to equip the vast majority of a military force with Conversation Mirrors.

In other words, these were――,

Aldebaran: [――Are these… dummies?]

Rachins: [Duuumbass.]

At Aldebaran’s dumbfounded mutter, Rachins stuck out his tongue and fired an insult at him.

Seeing the colorful ring swaying on the tip of that long tongue, Aldebaran reflexively used his own tongue to unwrap the package of poison hidden behind his molar. ――It was at that moment.

???: [――What, dull as a pig, you are.]

The poor joke that he had heard so many times that calluses were starting to form on his ears arrived alongside a punch, and Aldebaran could not distinguish whether it was the impact or the poison that had ended his life.

Only, the thoughts that came to his mind were not vulgar curses towards that pig-face, but rather――,

Aldebaran: [That shitty old geezer.]

It was an insult that amounted to nothing more than praise for an adversary who was pulling the strings of a plan that was not just formidable, but downright unreasonable.

△▼△▼△▼△

???: [――Are these… threads?]

The feint achieved by masquerading a Goa as an Al Goa had succeeded, allowing Rachins to charge at the enemy with minimal damage received from the fallen tree cannon. Having realized that he had been immobilized by threads fine to the point of being nigh invisible, he could not hide his astonishment.

Had he been the only one ensnared, he could have still forced himself to accept it.

However, it was not solely Rachins who had been immobilized, but also the fifty ruffians who had charged into the woods with him.

Were he to try implementing something like this himself, the mere thought of recreating the intricate geometry of the cage of wires set up in the forest within his mind would have made him give up. That was how extraordinary this feat had been.

But, what was far more astonishing to Rachins, even beyond the woman who had bound him in thread――,

???: [――Sorry, but I’ll be shattering that.]

With those words, the helmet bastard searched the breast pocket of one of the ruffians―― the man chosen for the duty of being the mirror-bearer, pried out the Conversation Mirror, and dropped it on the ground, readily crushing it underfoot.

Rachins: [――Hk, gotta be fucking kidding me.]

As if it were being wrung out of him, anger reflexively spilled out of his mouth, and the threads that constricted Rachins dug even deeper. Rather than a result of his own resistance, it seemed more like a warning from the thread-spinning red-haired woman for his cursing.

However, at this moment, his anger ran far deeper than the shallow cuts from the threads upon his flesh.

Rachins: [What, just what the hell’s going on here!? You fuck, how’d you get it on your first shot…?]

Helmet Bastard: [It wasn’t in one shot. Wasn’t even in ten or twenty shots. My draws, are absolutely pitiful.]

Rachins: [Ahh?]

As the helmet bastard seemed to have no intention of providing a proper response, Rachins firmly grit his teeth.

Through some unknown means, the helmet bastard had seen through the fact that they had established a communication network with Cromwell―― with Rom-jii at its heart, through the use of Conversation Mirrors. Moreover, thoroughly ignoring the decoy mirrors, which would have bought them time even if they had been seen through, he acted in a manner as if he had assuredly taken out the real one.

Despite the warning just a moment prior, Rachins raised his head.

Towards those whom he was powerless against, his surging feelings of inferiority would not allow resignation.

???: [Oi, what are you gonna do with these guys… Are you planning to… kill them all?]

Outside of Rachins’s innermost thoughts, the one who interjected was a middle-aged man of red hair―― Heinkel.

He had heard that this man was Reinhard’s father. Indeed, the red hair, blue eyes, and the excessively lavish Knight’s sword included, there were numerous features reminiscent of House Astrea.

From the moment he had heard that Heinkel had chosen to support a rival candidate, Priscilla, rather than Felt, whom his own son supported, he had thought of him as an idiot who could not make the right choice even regarding where he stood, but he was much worse than Rachins had imagined.

Rachins: [――That braindead moron.]

Rachins hated Reinhard.

In any case, Reinhard likely did not think much of Rachins, but they were similar in that they both had been born into families of a certain status, and both had conflicts with their fathers. Of course, there was a difference in the weight of what their births had burdened them with, and he knew that Reinhard had never considered abandoning what Rachins had so selfishly thrown away.

Born into a noble family, Rachins had run away due to his inability to form an understanding with his family, and somehow or another, he had ended up working for Felt; on the whole, he was a half-hearted person.

But, even if Rachins and Reinhard shared the same troubles, there remained a fundamental difference.

Rachins’s father was a respectable man. He disliked him, but he was respectable.

Rachins: [But, there’s no hope for a fuck like you.]

To be so emotionally anguished over a dispute with a father not even worthy of respect, Reinhard was a moron.

Hence, he would remove the reason behind Reinhard’s misery.

Rachins: […Goa.]

Even when tied up, incantations could be performed.

His entire body entangled in the threads, creaking as the Gate within pulsed, Rachins conjured a fireball directly before his face, prompting alarm in the helmet bastard and his gang.

However, what emerged was a tiny clump of fire no bigger than the tip of his thumb.

Heinkel: [Ah, trying to frighten me now? That petty a trick, you think I’d fall for it twice?!]

A faux Al Goa had been cast before him earlier, and out of spite for having been fooled by its appearance, Heinkel, his face red with anger, slashed at the fireball with his Knight’s sword.

For just a moment, that casual flash of the sword seemed so refined to the point of searing itself into his eyes, but that was fine.

Right now, what was more important than such deep impressions――,

Rachins: [Duuumbass.]

Sticking out his tongue and hurling derisive insults with the best sneer he could muster, took priority.

――He had stretched a Goa out thin to masquerade it as an Al Goa. Then, in a similar vein, an Al Goa could be masqueraded as a mere tiny fireball.

???: [Rachins-kun, you may not have any outstanding talent, but you have a firm foundation. Steady progress will assuredly grant you the power to reach wherever you wish to get to.]

Ezzo had introduced Rachins to magic, and remembering all the times he had been lectured by him with an arrogant pomp despite his short stature, Rachins apologized to him internally with an uncharacteristic “Sorry”.

Ignoring his firm foundation, and misusing magic by skipping tiers, was first on the list of things that would upset Ezzo.

But, since he would have never gotten another opportunity, it was something like his own excuse――,

Rachins: [――――]

The fireball basked in the tip of the sword and unraveled amidst the air, releasing the enormous firepower compressed within, and a hellish inferno that would incinerate the area in one fell swoop spread explosively.

Just before being swallowed by the flames himself, Rachins found that he was no longer filled with the lament of “Where the hell did my life take such a messed-up turn?” from mere moments ago, and he could not help but feel a bit strange.

And just like that, even wearing a smile upon his face, Rachins’s body was engulfed in the flames――,

Helmet Bastard: [That will be as far as you go.]

The flames he had staked his life on, which ought to have activated, were crushed in the hand of the helmet bastard, who had intervened as if he had known it would happen, and its firepower failed to be unleashed.

△▼△▼△▼△

――Two-hundred sixty-four times.

???: [―――――]

The steel threads binding him having caused his body to lose its strength, Rachins hung his head, looking as if he had given up.

But, such a thing was unthinkable. Rachins would absolutely never give up on defeating his opponent, even in this situation.

Hence――,

Aldebaran: [That will be as far as you go.]

Upon speaking it, he recalled how vexing it sounded, and internally he clicked his tongue.

Outside of his loathsome emotions, Aldebaran pushed Heinkel aside, and the Goa he had carelessly sliced apart―― no, this time the activation of that great magic in disguise was thwarted.

The large firepower that was going to rise into the air, attempting to scorch the whole expanse, was undone at its formation; while still nothing more than a kindling, it vanished as Mana that had lost its direction.

If he did not preempt this, the mighty flame would have scorched the whole area, Aldebaran’s party would suffer tremendous damage, and the battle would be unable to continue.

He felt sorry for Rachins’s resolve, who was about to stake his life on a desperate suicide bombing, but trying to accomplish something by laying down one’s life, was the most meaningless action to perform in front of Aldebaran.

No matter what one might wager their life on, Aldebaran would squander it without exception.

Therefore, it was futile. Staking one’s life, would have no meaning whatsoever.

It was futile. Futile, futilefutilefutilefutilefutilefutilefutile, futile.

Futile, and yet――,

Rachins: [Goa…]

Aldebaran: [STOP!!]

His initial kindling extinguished, Rachins nevertheless performed another incantation; bellowing at him, Aldebaran raised his fist overhead and hammered it into the body of the man incapable of moving.

He socked him right in the cheek, drove a kick into his abdomen, and struck him in the head once more. Unable to brace himself to withstand the impacts, Rachins had to take it all as a punching bag.

Even if Aldebaran was just a second-rate or third-rate warrior, he could overthrow even Garfiel if he pressed his vital points. And yet――,

Rachins: [Go, a…]

――Rachins did not cease his incantations.

Aldebaran: [WHY!?]

Once again crushing the kindling as it tried to come alive, he slammed the fist that did so into Rachins.

However, even when hit by a series of punches, the signs of new magic, attempting to interfere with the world, did not cease to be born around Rachins.

That was to say, even if his final stratagem had been seen through, Rachins would never yield.

Yae: [――Al-sama, there’ll be no end to this.]

In Aldebaran’s ear, out of breath as he was, such a voice was gently raised.

Subsequently, the bound Rachins’s head was lifted in front of him, around his neck a steel thread was tightly wound, wringing his slender neck―― not just that, it was starting to attempt to decapitate him.

Yae: [His eyes are speaking. As long as you don’t kill him, he’ll keep doing the same thing over and over. A truly admirable thing. Isn’t that the dearest desire of all boys? In that case…]

Aldebaran: [SHUT UP!]

Yae: [――――]

Moving a raised finger on her right hand, Yae caused a red line of blood to streak down Rachins’s neck. Silencing her, Aldebaran glared directly at Rachins.

With his chin lifted, Rachins gazed at Aldebaran at an angle that seemed to be looking down on him.

And then――,

Rachins: [Duuumb, ass…]

Cladding his right hand in a rock protector, Aldebaran struck Rachins firmly with a blow.

Receiving a blow inherently weightier than those that came before, Rachins’s forehead split open, and his blood rapidly scattered. Likely, he had been prepared to kill Rachins with that strike, but――,

Yae: […Spectacularly done~.]

Clapping her hands, Yae commended him whilst looking over Rachins’s limp body.

Even more so than Aldebaran, Yae was sensitive to the life and death of others. To her eyes, it would be apparent that the matter had concluded with Rachins fainting, without losing his life.

Aldebaran: [――――]

Neither that praise, nor the fact that Rachins had merely fainted, would serve as consolation for Aldebaran.

Only, more than he had initially thought, he must not underestimate this number of five-hundred. ――This was not merely a numerical figure, but five-hundred people hardened with the utmost resolve; he must respond to it as such.

Heinkel: [O-oi, Aldebaran…]

Aldebaran: [Sorry, but shut up for a sec.]

Having just defeated Rachins, Aldebaran was met with Heinkel’s voice. But, he had exhausted himself mentally more than he had expected to, to a greater extent than that of merely expanding his territory, and was unable to concern himself with Heinkel at the moment.

Regardless, he had succeeded in shattering the Conversation Mirror, and had eliminated the threat of the first vanguard.

All that remained――,

???: [――What, dull as a pig, you are.]

Aldebaran: [――――]

The arrival of the joke poking fun at their own tribe was well familiar to his ears; however, unlike before, this time it arrived without a fist to accompany it.

But, whether it was fine to thus deem that acceptable, and treat it as a sign that he had overcome a perilous spot, he did not know.

That was because――,

???: [Thoughtlessly stopping in place there, your heads stuffed with pigfood or something?]

As the pig-face man declared so in a weighty voice, he was not alone; similar to how Rachins had been accompanied by a squadron, he did not charge in alone, but instead stood before Aldebaran’s party as the second battle formation.

Aldebaran: [――Expand territory, matrix redefinition.]

△▼△▼△▼△

???: [Thoughtlessly stopping in place there, your heads stuffed with pigfood or something?]

Hearing the voice of the King Pig, Doltero Amule, across one of the Conversation Mirrors fitted to his gauntlets, Rom-jii understood that the helmet bastard had made contact with the second battle formation.

The first contact had been made by Rachins’s unit, so it was fortunate that the battle formation positioned in the nearest location included Doltero, who was the strongest warrior among the line-up they had gathered.

Rom: [――――]

Only, before Doltero could arrive, the helmet bastard had clashed with Rachins, and the well-being of the unit under his command was unknown. Naturally, the same went for their commanding officer, Rachins.

Rather, considering the opponent’s cunning, it would be more apt to consider Rachins to be dead.

Rom: [――Perhaps not.]

Given that a battle had occurred, it was impossible that they had handled the situation without suffering harm.

The ruffians of the criminal underworld were a matter of course, but casualties would also emerge within the Camp. ――It would be foolish to count on the single ray of hope that was present in the report Grassis had received from Flam.

Therefore, Rom-jii put a lid over his own feelings in between blinks, and concentrated on the situation before his eyes.

With Doltero, the helmet bastard and his allies would be killed in the span of a single breath. ――They could not take such an optimistic viewpoint. In a sense, the helmet bastard had led the Sword Saint, Divine Dragon, and Witch of Envy around by their noses, but that feat alone served not as the reason.

Rom: […He shattered the Conversation Mirror in the possession of the mirror-keeper without any hesitation.]

Since that had left them incapable of grasping the movements around Rachins and his squadron, there was no doubt that the opposition had taken the best course of action in order to intercept the flow of information to this side.

However, no matter how one looked at it, the way that this best move was executed had been far too unnatural.

Even supposing they had already surmised the arrangements and configuration of this side’s coordination, that they had been equipped with Conversation Mirrors, their actions that followed were――,

Rom: [As long as they ain’t seein’ inside our heads, or perhaps something else entirely, it oughta be impossible.]

It was all preposterous, a realm of jape that ought to have been ridiculed as impossible.

Nonetheless, having lived over a hundred years, Rom-jii was aware that powers transcending both his common sense and his wildest imagination did exist in this world, and that those who wielded such abilities would indeed come to play upon the same board.

Those who ceased all thought when faced with such beings, deeming it an impossibility, always met the same end.

He could not afford to ever allow such a wretched end to befall the ones he loved.

Rom: [――There’s somethin’ I’d like ta ascertain. All units, change o’ plans.]

Speaking to all of the Conversation Mirrors simultaneously, Rom-jii narrowed his eyes, and formulated a stratagem.

The helmet bastard, he also ought to be aware.

――The fact that, for both their side and the helmet bastard’s side, this battle was a race against time.