Chapter 179
Chapter 179. Serendipity
“—The characteristics of the Demon Lord’s Prince Zilbagias, is it?”
“That’s right; even the smallest detail will do.”
Hessel said this, nodding at Palm, the Forest Elf Archer.
While waiting at the frontline base, everyone, including Barbara, was desperate to gather any information from Palm.
“What you’ve seen, what you’ve felt—any small impression is fine. It might lead us to a strategy, so please just tell us anything.”
“…Well, let’s see…”
Under the serious gazes of everyone, Palm fidgeted uncomfortably but put on a thinking face.
“As I already mentioned… He looked very young, like a child of the Human Race, but he was surprisingly skilled for his age. I fired an arrow along with the Hero’s blinding light, but he managed to handle it without the slightest sign of panic.”
“Looks like the blinding light was pointless…” one of the heroes murmured.
“Zilbagias slaughtered over 100 soldiers in just a few minutes, and… if my senses are correct, I think his magical power grew slightly with each life he took.”
…Someone groaned. As if asking for mercy.
“Also, he was clad in a silver-scaled armor. It was hard to tell because of the Prince’s magic, but I believe it was quite a remarkable piece—imbued with protective powers. From the texture, it likely came from the… White Dragon…”
Everyone’s expressions turned grave. The armor of the Demon Lord’s Prince made from the scales of a White Dragon—a source that only had one possibility.
The assault operation on the Demon Lord Castle.
“And if I’m not mistaken—”
Palm glanced at Barbara and the others, hesitating a bit before continuing.
“—Zilbagias wielded a very unusual spear. It looked like he specially modified a Human sword, one imbued with magic, into a spear tip…”
“That’s… distasteful.”
Hessel grimaced and spat out the words. The surrounding humans wore bitter expressions.
Barbara was also not feeling too good about it. To have the symbol of the Human Race’s strength, the pride of the Sword Saint, degraded into a weapon for demons… Though demons also held pride in their weapons, doing something like this surely had a rotten reason tied to some devilish affairs.
“Unpleasant to the very end, isn’t he?”
Barbara muttered coolly, but the anger seeping through her words was undeniable.
—When we find him, there will be no mercy.
The hearts of the humans present united in that thought.
†††
Zilbagias was currently invading the streets of the Capital of Evaroti at a brisk pace.
After a brief pause for hydration following the takeover of Fort 4, he was ready for a re-deployment. He heard that others had already rushed ahead into the city, and Kuvirtar was throwing a fit, shouting, “How dare they sneak ahead without waiting for His Highness!”
I should probably be angry too. The more they kill, the less there will be for me to slay.
But, it felt somewhat indifferent.
Not that I don’t care—I know I should.
But I just feel… indifferent.
It’s like I’m a puppet of my own making. Right foot out, left foot out, one, two, one, two—it was almost laughable like a mechanical toy.
“Ha ha ha!”
The laughter that escaped my lips felt distant, as if echoing into infinity. If I relaxed just a bit, I’d probably vomit right then and there. The immense magical power that Antendeixis had poured into me—
Ughhh—!
“Heh heh.”
Kuvirtar, leading the way, turned back at my sudden outburst, looking puzzled, so I smiled back. He returned to facing forward, still bewildered.
We ran down the main street cluttered with debris and furniture haphazardly piled like barricades. Ahead of me was Kuvirtar, flanked by his subordinates, while the three fools took the lead as per usual.
The trio was smoothly handling the traps laid out by the allied forces.
“Oh, this is the one we did during training!”
The Oke Knight, who was leading the way, keenly noticed a wire trap and casually tossed a ball of magic at it.
In an instant, the trap crumbled into pieces.
No— it was “dissected.”
The Oke Knight, contracted with the Demon of Dissection, had finally blossomed his talent through rigorous training. Once he grasped the structure of a trap, he could dismantle it without triggering it, thanks to his necromantic powers.
Originally, Dissection was intended for living beings, so he might not be utilizing its full potential, but the practical application was undeniable. The Doslothus tribe vouched for its effectiveness.
Well, it’s a lot like distorting Antendeixis’s Taboo into a Contract.
“Haha! Killing two birds with one stone!”
As he neutralized trap after trap, the cheerful Oke Knight kept on going. Thanks to his ability to adapt, he could now grow his magical power just by dismantling traps.
“Indeed.”
Kuvirtar seemed satisfied and looked back as if to say, “Well done for reaching this level.”
—But.
That expression soon tightened.
I felt a shift in the air. The battlefield instinct kicked in. The atmosphere felt gritty—almost rusty.
I swept my gaze around—my eyes drawn to a darkened house.
Something was there.
Moonlight.
In my field of vision, a black dot.
“Enemy attack!”
An arrow came flying straight at me but was mostly dampened by the [Contract], and Kuvirtar sliced it down while shouting.
“—Uooooahh!”
Humans and Beastmen, seemingly hiding, burst out with shabby weapons from nearby houses.
…Again.
Again—I must kill.
With a chilling sensation sweeping through my body, my thoughts became razor sharp, cutting off all excess. The shrill sound of a warning whistle seemed to drift away from my heart—
I shoved aside Kuvirtar’s subordinate who was shielding me and moved forward. I cut down the charging human in one swing. What’s this? Their swordsmanship is pathetic. Swinging a sword like they’re just some average guy. Is there no proper soldier around?!
“Get out of my wayyy!”
The Seire Knight swung around a spear wildly, knocking back both humans and beastmen with the brute strength of the Demon of Force. Albar Aoril bound them with curses, picking them off one by one.
The others were also handling it well. There were no signs of danger—
“The whistle is bothering me.”
In just a few seconds, the ambushers were utterly wiped out. Kuvirtar stomped down on the warning whistle and kept an eye on the surroundings.
“Waiting here might be exciting.”
As I wiped the blood off my blade, I said that.
“Are we waiting then?”
“You all want heads for your trophies, don’t you?”
When I grinned, Kuvirtar and the others chuckled and shrugged.
In the siege of the fort, I had taken the best parts for myself. Albar had only taken down a Forest Elf Mage with his throwing spear.
If the ambush and the whistle system were in place like this, it means a formidable opponent is on the way.
I wonder how long it’ll take; can they arrive in a few minutes?
“Now, what’s coming…”
I muttered, but then casually looked up at the sky—
Above,
Moonlight,
A shadow rising.
Human-shaped—growing larger.
Then, a glint—
“—!!”
Chills ran down my spine and I instinctively readied my spear.
Whoooosh!! An ominous stabbing sound.
A tremendous shock struck my hand holding the spear, the blade of the Adamas screeched and sparks flew.
An assassin silently descended from above—the erected thin sword thrust toward me, and I barely managed to deflect it.
Up close, our eyes met.
It was—a woman. A human.
A black-haired female swordsman adorned with a helmet resembling a unicorn—
“What…”
A vibrant wind swept in. My doll-like body felt blood circulating, awareness return. Her sharp eyes, wide open now with shock, radiated wildness yet held stunning beauty. She looked like someone I knew, but clearly, she had aged.
But—old memories resurfaced.
“—Your sword is an impressive piece. Where did you get it?”
I had traded a fortune to a dwarf for it. I mean, I threw all my money at him.
“All your money! That’s a bold claim; maybe I should have one made too.”
It cost around—100 gold coins.
“Huh? Huh? No way—? If I had that kind of money, I could support my whole family…”
Her speech was somewhat unusual.
“Wait, uh, is that so? I got a little flustered there… heh heh.”
You’ve been through a lot too, haven’t you—
“It’s not that hard for me. There are plenty of people who have it way worse than us…”
She laughed bravely—
—Oh, that’s right.
I met her on the battlefield of the now-defunct Proe-Leffush Union Kingdom.
She was once the youngest, and quite rare, female Sword Saint—
Her name was—
Her name was—
†††
—Barbara was stunned. She never expected to be blocked.
After hearing the warning whistle, she sprinted at full speed with blessings from her mages and priests, launching a surprise attack from the rooftop.
She thought she could do it.
The scales she had heard about. Dazzling under the night’s hue, the silver shimmer was impossible to miss.
I can do this! I can take down that Demon Lord’s Prince!
Right after the death of the elite squad, she thought this moment, when he was off guard, was the only chance. So she turned her body and prepared for a hit-and-run to take down the Prince—!
But still.
Her eyes met the Demon Lord Prince, Zilbagias. The deep crimson pupils wide with shock, a face that was deceptively youthful yet impeccably formed that could send chills down one’s spine. The ominous horns and blue skin, indeed, he was a demon.
And that spear, which had been fashioned from a sword, a faded blade, had completely thwarted Barbara’s full-powered thrust.
Barbara’s sting could pierce even thick ironplates.
How could such an old blade—
—No.
This blade, this sword, clearly aged.
But unmistakably,
She recognized it—!
“I traded an enormous sum to a dwarf, I mean, threw my whole fortune at him for this sword.”
He had said that bluntly. Such a bold statement, she joked about getting one made for herself.
“It cost about 100 gold coins.”
She was flabbergasted. With that kind of money, her family would have food for a while.
“Your speech is a bit—off.”
It seemed her surprise had come through. She quickly tried to cover it up.
“…You’ve been through a lot too.”
That embarrassed look on his face as he averted his gaze—
Years later, a letter had arrived.
He was participating in a top-secret operation from which he would not return alive. Along with it was a gold coin or two, conveniently saying, “Use it wisely since you won’t need it anyway.”
Indeed, this was—without a doubt, his holy sword.
Why? Why is it in the hands of a demon?
No need for thought, because he—
Perished in the assault operation on the Demon Lord Castle—
Of course, his weapons were left behind in the Demon Lord Castle—
And that—
That, to—
Of all things, his holy sword—!!!
“—You bastard!!!”
No matter how composed Sword Saint Barbara was, she could not suppress her fervor—!
“—Sword Saint!”
The demon guards of the Prince shouted, and the time that had stalled began to move again.
She hadn’t managed to take him down in one stroke, but—
It wasn’t over yet.
Here, I will kill him! I absolutely must slay this one!!!
“Shit!”
Landing smoothly to absorb the impact, she was about to thrust her sword forward—
“【No Thrusting Allowed】!!”
In that very moment, the Demon Lord Prince shouted. A jolt of paralysis surged through her, was this the action-inhibiting magic Palm spoke of?! The wards that the mages had laid were screaming—What kind of magic—!!
This is bad, this is really bad!!
Barbara, with her sharp instincts, immediately halted her blade’s motion, utilizing her stepping speed to retreat. The space where she had just been was pierced from all directions by the spears and curses of the demon guards.
As if to return the favor—
“【Let There Be Light!】”
Arrows of light rained down upon the demons.
Thanks to the mages’ hastening magic, the main forces had arrived. Skilled Heroes, Priests, Mages, and Forest Elf Archers—
And—
“Whoa—!!!”
The Sword Saint, with a greatsword on her shoulder, surged with power and advanced forward.
“—DIEEEEEE!!!”
With a sweeping slash from Hessel, the Sword Saint—
— unleashed her greatsword with all her might.
