The fortress city of Barrelroll, located to the south of the Gardio Empire, was filled with rising smoke and the screams of people.
The fortress, which had surely protected against external enemies until now, was mercilessly shattered, and from it poured thousands of melting machines.
Outside the city walls, several hundred Cyclopes approached, trying to inflict further damage on Barrelroll, while the Gardio Empire's Knights were defending with their Frame Gears.
In front of the fortress gates, Leen's Grimgerde was unleashing a rain of crystal bullets toward the Cyclopes.
In the sky, Linze's Helmwiege in flight form and on the ground, Elze's Gerhilde were struggling to prevent the Cyclopes from getting closer to the fortress city.
At that moment, I used my [Gate] to bring in the Valkyrie, the specialized machines of Yumina and the Frame Gears of the Brunhild Knights. The scales, which had been tipping toward defeat, immediately reversed.
"Finally, here!"
"We're saved...!"
"You took your sweet time, didn't you?"
"I was rushing as fast as I could... [Flying Sword Fragarach] activated!"
"[Flying Sword Fragarach] activating."
Twelve crystal plates on the back of my Reginleif were simultaneously detached and began to float around, rotating like satellites.
"State Change Mode Change: Dagger."
The floating crystal plates split into four. Each smaller plate transformed into the shape of a dagger, and forty-eight crystal daggers began to spin around the Reginleif in a radiating pattern.
"[Meteor Sword Cluster Gladius]."
Forty-eight meteors, drawing light behind them, flew toward the Cyclopes.
The daggers, descending like a meteor shower, pierced the Q Crystal on the Cyclopes' heads without fail and continued toward the next Cyclopes.
The simultaneous attack from all directions by the majority of Flying Sword Fragarach is the [Meteor Sword Cluster Gladius], and I am controlling all of it.
Using the [Accel] thought acceleration, I controlled the flight paths of all forty-eight swords. Honestly, it’s quite tough. At this point, I have no room to move the main body, leaving it completely defenseless, which is a weakness.
After defeating a considerable number of Cyclopes, I returned the Flying Sword Fragarach to the Reginleiv. I can't push any further.
"It’s still cheating, isn’t it…?"
Leen's voice reached me from Grimgerde, who had stopped firing crystal bullets. I don’t think it’s cheating, considering she can’t do it that many times.
"Charge────!!"
The knights’ Frame Gears charged at the Cyclopes, whose numbers had been reduced.
I think we’re fine now. The rest is…
"What about the melting machines that entered the fortress city?"
"The Galdio Empire’s Knights are handling them. However, the numbers are still too many..."
Linze’s report came from the Helmwiege flying above the city.
Rather than the large Cyclopes, these smaller ones in greater numbers are more troublesome.
If magic would work, we could lock on to the targets and annihilate them in one go… But since physical attacks do work, in the end, like what Leen and Quun did, the Iron Wall Press is the easiest and most efficient method...
The citizens still haven’t fully evacuated. Unlike the previous two towns, this fortress city is too large. We’ve already started target-locking everyone, but it’s going to take quite a bit of time...
What’s concerning is that I don’t see the vortex that was sucking souls like in the other towns above the city. Has the absorption ended here?
As I thought suspiciously, I saw Kuon riding on Kohaku, galloping through the main street, with Alice casually riding behind.
Running alongside them, with a bitter expression, was Ende. Ende’s Dragoon had taken quite a bit of damage in the battle with the Arachne Golem.
I considered having him ride the spare Black Knight Baron, but once Alice declared she was joining Kuon in the ground battle, he volunteered to be the guardian for the children.
It was obvious his reasons were purely personal, but there might be issues if the children were left alone, so I decided to rely on him for now.
Not just Kuon , but flying ahead in the sky on Kougyoku’s back were Yakumo and Frey, and behind them on Luli’s back were Yoshino, Arcia, Steph, and Gold.
Sango and Kokuyou, being slower, shrank down and hitched a ride on Kougyoku’s back with Yakumo and the others.
Their destination was the central square of Barrelroll. Just like in the Kingdom of Rephan earlier, wide spaces like this are where the battles inevitably take place when fighting in such large areas.
In the center of the fortress city, at a place with a large fountain, Quun, Elna, and Linne were fighting the melting machines alongside the Gardio Empire’s Knights.
I’m worried, but there’s nothing I can do but leave the children to them. We need to quickly wrap this up and get there as soon as possible.
◇ ◇ ◇
"[Water, come forth, shockwave bubble, Bubble Bomb]"
When Elna waved her staff, multiple water orbs flew toward the melting machines, almost like soap bubbles.
The moment the water orbs touched the enemy, they exploded violently, sending many of the melting machines flying.
"[Shield]!"
With her right hand, Elna, who had jumped above the fallen group of melting machines, deployed a large [Shield] beneath her feet and downward.
"[Gravity]!"
The weight of Linne, who landed on top of the [Shield], became thousands of times heavier, and the [Shield] crushed the numerous melting machines below her.
Immediately, Linne jumped onto another group of melting machines, deployed a [Shield] downward, and crushed them with [Gravity]. She repeated this process, stepping like she was crushing frozen puddles on a winter morning, crushing one after another.
"Quun-neechan, this is so boring!"
"That’s the most efficient method, so be patient. I want to ride 'Beowulf' and cause chaos too, you know?"
The older sister, who was being complained about by her younger sister, waved her hand, and a large Iron Wall appeared in front of the enemies. She continued the repetitive task of defeating them.
Normally, Quun would want to ride her self-developed heavy-armored Armed Gear 'Beowulf' and test the upgraded weapons, but if she did that, it would remove her ability to stop her free-spirited younger sister.
She was aware, at least, that she was the eldest sister here.
"I wish Yakumo-onee-sama or Frey-onee-sama would come soon..."
If that were the case, she could leave all the responsibility for her younger sister to them and freely go wild, Quun grumbled to herself.
At that moment, as if her prayers had been answered, two girls descended from the sky. They swiftly sliced through the nearby melting machines with their swords. It was Yakumo and Frey, who had jumped down from Kougyoku .
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
"Quun-chan, you’ve done well!"
"Onee-sama!"
Quun absolutely loved these two older sisters who always showed up just when she wanted them. "As expected of my older sisters!" she praised them in her heart, albeit a bit self-centeredly. Now, she could finally move freely.
A shockwave-like force shot out from behind, sending the melting machines flying. When Quun turned around, she saw her younger brother and his fiancée arriving, riding on Kohaku. Behind them, the other sisters were also present. Ende was among them, but Kuon didn’t seem to mind much.
"Now then, it’s our turn," said a voice.
"Leave the defense to us," came another.
From Kougyoku’s back, Sango and Kokuyou dismounted and grew in size. Sango let out a roar aimed at the sky, and an intricate hexagonal barrier appeared instantly around her.
"Everyone for rear support, get inside the barrier!"
Luli shouted, and Elna and Yoshino climbed onto Sango's back. Normally, Quun would be there too, but she was already calling her special Armed Gear, 'Beowulf,' from her phone’s [Storage], happily preparing to mount it. She was eager to engage at the front lines.
Yoshino summoned a semi-transparent glass-like keyboard from her smartphone and began channeling magical energy.
"Here I go!"
Yoshino's fingers spun a lively melody. The song she was playing was the theme song from a movie depicting the adventure of young boys searching for a treasure hidden by a legendary pirate.
While being chased by a gang, the children fought desperately, and perhaps this image matched the current situation. Yoshino happily slid her fingers across the keyboard.
Each time Yoshino struck the keys, particles of light burst into the air. In sync with this, Yakumo and Frey's physical abilities were enhanced.
"Let's go, Alice!"
"I know, Linne!"
Linne, wearing gauntlets, and Alice charged into the melting machines. Linne used [Gravity] to powerfully knock enemies away, while Alice precisely pinpointed their weak spots and turned them to crystal with her fists.
The combination of the two, who were close in age and childhood friends, was flawless.
"Take this!"
Steph, wrapped in [Prison], sped through the melting machines with [Accel] at full throttle (?). The melting machines she knocked down were finished off by Gold, following behind her.
Watching this, Arcia, who was slashing away at the melting machines with her twin swords, let out a small sigh.
"When I have such flashy younger sisters around, my plainness really stands out..."
That being said, Arcia was also achieving remarkable results compared to typical knights.
She nimbly dodged the spears of the approaching melting machines, cutting off their arms with her twin swords. In Arcia's mind, the melting machines were no different from zombies, and she showed no hesitation in defeating them.
It was just that, she felt it was somewhat pointless to carve up things that couldn’t be eaten.
Suddenly, Arcia glanced backward and saw Elna standing with her staff, on top of the now-magnified Sango and Kokuyou.
Magic doesn't affect the melting machines. The [Bubble Bomb] from earlier only knocked them away without causing much damage, and Linne had finished them off with [Gravity].
"[Ice, entangle, frozen curse, Ice Bind]!"
Ice roots crawled up beneath the melting machines' feet, binding their movement. As if waiting for that moment, Yoshino raised a platinum-colored sphere she had received from Kuon above her head.
"[Divine Armament]!"
The platinum sphere unraveled like threads, weaving into the shape of a bow in her hands.
Multiple strings were drawn on this special harp bow, a divine armament exclusively for Yoshino.
Yoshino ran her fingers over the strings, playing a melody, and with a final strum, the last string was drawn tightly.
At the same time, numerous light arrows appeared across the bow.
"Here we go!"
Yoshino released several arrows into the sky.
The arrows split into even more in mid-air, and countless divine arrows rained down like beams of light on the melting machines trapped in ice.
None of them missed. The light arrows pierced the heads of the enemies, and in an instant, the pierced melting machines collapsed, one by one. Seeing this, Arcia muttered to herself again.
"Really, when I have such flashy younger sisters, my plainness really stands out..."
Realizing that the battle here was over, Arcia returned her twin swords to her waist. Kuon, riding on Kohaku, approached Arcia.
"Arcia-onee-sama, there’s something I’d like you to search for with [Search]..."
"[Search]? What is it?"
Arcia tilted her head at her younger brother’s request.
"I can’t find anything like the vortex that gathers souls, which we saw in other battlefields. However, the souls of the deceased have been extracted. I thought it might be hidden somewhere."
"...Now that you mention it, that's true."
Arcia remembered seeing something similar in the sky above the Regulus Empire, where she had been fighting with her mother. It had disappeared by the time the battle was over, but it wasn’t visible here.
"[Search]"
Arcia recalled the vortex from above Regulus, visualized it in her mind, and activated [Search].
"...It’s underground. I’m not sure if it was hidden there to avoid detection, or if that’s just more efficient..."
"Underground? From where?"
"From the underground passage that leads there. It’s very close."
Arcia pointed at a round metal cover in the central square, and Frei used [Power Rise] to forcefully flip the cover open.
With the iron ladder there, Kuon descended and found the vortex that had been absorbing souls in the underground sewer system.
The glittering light being sucked in was probably the souls of the deceased.
"I found it. Steph, can you seal it with [Prison]?"
"Sure!"
Steph, who had descended into the underground passage just like Kuon, immediately cast [Prison] on the vortex that was absorbing souls.
Just like when Touya had cast [Prison], the souls being absorbed stopped, and after a while, the vortex automatically disappeared.
"It’s gone."
"Thank you, Steph. Now, the souls of the victims won’t be exploited anymore."
Kuon patted her younger sister’s head, feeling certain that the aim of the apostle of the evil gods was indeed to collect the souls of the people.
Given how they were trying to gather them on such a large scale, Kuon thought that they might be in a desperate situation.
(Something’s making them hurry...? Either way, I feel like we shouldn’t give them any more time.)
They already knew the location of their enemy's base. Since the large army stationed there was now sent here, the base must be empty for now.
"If we’re going to attack, now might be the time."
Kuon, escaping the underground passage with Steph, looked toward her parents, who were still fighting outside the fortress city.
◇ ◇ ◇
To the north of Isengard, in the center of the red lake, stood the base of the Apostles of the Evil God, the Tree Fortress.
At the top of the pyramid in the center of it all, on a place that resembled an altar, Gold, wearing the ‘gold’ crown, stood still.
Directly above the altar was a distorted vortex created by [Spatial Distortion], and from it, the souls of humans killed by the melting machines flowed into the altar. The pale blue souls' threads created an ethereal sight.
The golden ring on the altar, where the souls were flowing, repeatedly slid left and right like the dial of a vault.
Eventually, when the movement stopped with a click, the space inside the circle drawn by the ring turned into pure black darkness, and a small light began to shine in its center.
It was a tiny light, almost like a needle hole… but it continued to shine without disappearing.
"It’s connected... It’s connected! Hahaha! Finally, it’s connected!"
Gold, sounding almost human in his joy, laughed. His voice, filled with madness, caused Tangerine and Peacock, who were standing behind him, to feel a slight sense of fear.
"What... exactly are you trying to do?"
Having become apostles of the Evil God, they all hated this world. They had sold their souls to the cursed artifacts, planning to destroy this world that denied their existence, taking all of humanity and demi-humans down with them.
While the reasons were different, Tangerine had thought Gold’s goal was the same as theirs. But now, she began to have doubts.
This Golem seemed to be heading in a different direction than they were. There were hints of hatred for this world, but it didn’t feel like the desire for it to perish.
It was impossible for Gold to express emotions to such an extent, but Tangerine couldn’t help but feel that the mechanical puppet in front of her didn’t look like a machine at all.
"I do not recognize this world. You will become the sacrifice to fulfill my long-held wish."
Gold turned around, and his red twin camera eyes pierced through Tangerine and Peacock.
In their eyes, they thought they saw strong obsession, hatred, and anger.
"The door is open. Now, if we offer the detonator and the sacrifice, it should accelerate a bit."
With a swoosh! From the roots behind Tangerine and Peacock, thousands of plant vines shot out, entwining them and binding them tightly. In an instant, the two were embedded into the trees and fixed in place.
Clink! The metallic orange mace and metallic green chakram dropped from their hands and hit the ground.
"What are you doing!?"
"Gold...! You...!"
"The Evil Gods are still gods. Though they were mere remnants, in the end, they were useful."
When Gold raised his right hand over the two cursed artifacts that had fallen, the area around the cursed artifacts warped, and the two cursed artifacts began to bend and twist, creaking.
It was as if an immense force was being applied to them, as the shaft of the mace warped and the chakram distorted.
With a creaking sound, cracks began to form in the cursed artifacts, making sharp, snapping noises.
Then, from Gold's extended left hand, a black miasma-like substance burst out and entered the cracked cursed artifacts.
Through the divine power of [Corrosion], the power of the Evil God was gradually eaten away. The metallic green hue slowly faded, and it turned into a dull color.
"Ugh...!"
"Ah...!"
As the color of the cursed artifacts slowly changed, the bodies of the two slowly transformed into sand from the edges.
Even though their bodies, which were trapped in the trees, turned entirely into sand, the cursed artifacts did not vanish.
The metallic gleam of the cursed artifacts disappeared, and red-black miasma leaked from the cracked parts.
Gold grabbed them and tossed them roughly into the golden ring. For an instant, there was a flash of light like an explosion, and a light as small as a needle hole expanded to the size of a baseball. And that light, though slowly, was clearly growing larger in Gold's eyes.
"Almost... almost there. I will definitely take it back..."
Gold simply stared at the slowly expanding light in the darkness of the ring.
No comments:
Post a Comment