A Nightmare Spilling from the West
A Nightmare Spilling from the West
The wyvern that took off from the inner fortress seemed to head our way before vanishing above the darkening clouds.
"One looked like it was flying toward the Demonfolk's territory... but where was the other one trying to go?"
"Wasn't it trying to sow confusion?"
"Pretending to attack, aiming to scatter the mages? With their wyverns' capabilities, that would be plausible..."
Unlike the knights who, while troubled with grim faces, gradually calmed down and kept their spoons moving, I couldn't shake off the ominous feeling.
The one that had clearly been flying toward us had disappeared from sight. If it had been an ordinary human, I could have shrugged it off, but the enemy was a member of the Demonfolk capable of Magic Power application like me.
They had sent one of their only two remaining wyverns to the rear to serve as a courier, and the other they had only moved for a moment just to cause half-hearted confusion among the mages who had breached the outer fortress? That was it?
If it were me, I would have aimed for rear disruption and struck the command post.
"Why is that, Sir Ega?"
"If it were me, I would have moved hidden in the clouds and attacked the command post."
As I stated that assumption bluntly, everyone's gaze fixed on me once more.
But no one reacted as if it were nonsense. They all turned to listen with grave and serious expressions.
"If they were members of the Human Race, you could ask what kind of assault they'd manage with a wyvern that only carries two at most, but they're Demonfolk, aren't they."
"...That is a valid point. But if we stay still, as usual the main force could join and launch a pincer attack, so is there a reason to move so recklessly? Of course, thanks to Sir Ega, we breached the outer fortress in an instant and are in a very advantageous position, but still."
The question was: to make such an assault succeed, they would have to commit a fighter of that caliber, so was there a reason for the Demon King's Army to take such a dangerous gamble? In ordinary circumstances, her doubt and objection would have been the right argument, but from what I could see, this was an unusual case.
"Maybe this time it's different."
"May I ask why you think so?"
"Because I'm here."
It was fucking sad to have to say something so self-absorbed and delusional, but it was the truth. I quickly added an aside to keep the people around me from making strange faces.
"I've done some things that seriously pissed off the Demon King's Army. Because of that, even the special forces infiltrating Itisel tried to kill or capture me. If that order's priority is high..."
"...So you're saying that now, with Sir Ega revealed, they might consider it an opportunity and come charging."
Yeah, it would sound insane. I thought such an excess of self-awareness was a sickness, but sadly it was the truth, so there was nothing to be done.
I had expected at least a comment telling me to stop spewing nonsense, but the reaction that came back was surprisingly normal.
"...Annoying is better than getting blindsided because we let our guard down, right?"
"We think so too."
All the knights and Ranje nodded and rose from their seats. While I was still dumbfounded by their calm decision, Ranje licked the stew remnants from the corner of her mouth and spoke.
"First, we should hurry and put on our gear, and then relay this to the command post. If it's alright with you..."
Her words, about to ask for my accompaniment, were cut short.
"Wyvern spotted! It's reappeared!"
Because one of the knights, who had seriously taken in my opinion and was keeping an eye on the sky, shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Damn it! Everyone scatter! Grab your armor first! And someone run and call the remaining magic corps!"
The wyvern that appeared, piercing through the dark clouds spreading across the reddening sky like a spear, had already halved the distance from the inner fortress to our command post in that short time.
Naturally, our advancing allied encirclement was left far behind. Those who understood that all that remained was for the distance to vanish in an instant moved quickly.
"One wyvern approaching! Consider it at least centurion-class, all troops lacking skill fall back! We can't tell what kind of bastard is coming! Notify the command post too!"
Leaving behind Ranje, who was shouting orders at those who couldn't even react properly, I focused all my nerves on the wyvern growing larger by the moment.
Beyond simple vigilance, I had no choice.
"What kind of monster brat is that...?"
Even at this distance, I could feel its Magic Power.
At a level that hit not just my Magic Sight but my entire body, the powerful Magic Power made cold sweat break out. Did Demonfolk bastards live their whole lives around things like that? I guess I could kinda see why the strong became the superiors in their structure.
If nothing else, this was definitely a member of the Demonfolk on a different level from any I'd met so far.
The only thing that came to mind was the Demonfolk member that had suddenly appeared before me when I was trying to protect Esmue at the Imperial Academy. The one I couldn't even follow with my eyes, but because it was in the heart of the empire, I luckily never had to face—that Demonfolk member had clearly been a powerhouse beyond my level at the time, but...
"And I have to fight this now?"
This motherfucker was worse. Seriously fucking obscenely so.
Just as curses were about to leave my mouth, something sparkled above the wyvern's head, and I instinctively understood it was an attack.
"Everyone get out of the way!!"
In an instant, the wyvern flying steadily wobbled violently and the sparkle vanished.
What I managed to grasp by mustering every nerve taut with intense crisis was a single javelin. The moment I realized it was a spear, I threw myself sideways with all my might, and an explosion erupted right where I had been standing.
-BOOM!!
"Attack! Emergency! Emergency!!"
Tumbling without even managing a proper breakfall from the shock, I fixed my gaze on the spear that had seemingly sprouted from nowhere in the spot where I had stood.
It was intact.
As if to prove that the explosion had been caused by nothing but sheer physical force and not some magic on the spear, the spear that had carved a crater about two meters wide was perfectly fine. The table was smashed, chairs went flying, and the whole area was a wreck, but I had no time to worry about that.
Because the crazy bastard sniping with spears was still aiming at me.
"Sir Ega!"
Even before Ranje's shout—who had been flung far away without managing to brace—I was faster in turning my gaze to the wyvern in the sky. Just then, light flashed once more above the wyvern that was still disoriented.
"This fucking world of ours."
As I gathered every scrap of Magic Power and wrapped it around myself, my body's already-enhanced senses sharpened even further, creating a strange sense of dissociation, but thanks to that, I could now accurately perceive the incoming javelin.
And so I found something else to marvel at: I realized the bastard wasn't just aiming for my body but was accurately targeting my head. How could I not be shocked?
The moment I realized that, my helmet deployed and blocked my vision, but I was absolutely certain that even if the helmet held, my neck wouldn't survive a hit from that, so I lunged slightly forward and reached out toward the incoming spear.
The notion that under extreme tension the world seems to move slowly—in my past life I'd always thought it was complete bullshit, but here I'd learned bone-deep that it wasn't entirely false.
Until now, within that sensation, I had been the one moving fastest, but not this time. The javelin that crazy bastard threw was fast, as if it were sliding down a playground slide in a world of turtles.
Still, it was at a level I could track with my eyes, predict, and brace for, so I managed to grab hold of the javelin he threw.
-Crunch!
"Hup!"
Like a flash of life review, the moment in the academy basement when that fake dragon's tail smacked me flashed by.
In the massive shock that felt like my joints, shoulder, and muscles were going to be pulverized, the thought that spread through me as I recalled that memory was that this was still better than then.
"Throwing it...!"
Because holding out by sheer force had its limits, I simply turned my whole direction, spun around once, and only then felt the javelin's force diminish.
And I was certain. Back when I was in the Empire, I wouldn't have been able to catch it like this.
Absurd as it was, unlike my recent daily life where I hadn't felt myself getting stronger, it seemed I was indeed improving bit by bit.
So... now it was time to see if my attacks could land too.
"...I can do it too, you son of a bitch!!"
In that instant, not even a few seconds, the Magic Organ that felt like it was creaking as it operated to its limit drove my entire body's Magic Power into an explosive surge. At the same time, not only my physical abilities but also my senses sharpened another level, and the wyvern I'd thought was still far away began to appear much more clearly.
Something: one with ordinary goat-like horns, and one with massive water buffalo horns. Judging by the bag full of javelins, the one with the Water Buffalo Horn was the culprit.
There was no room to be flustered by the sudden sensory change, so first I re-gripped the javelin and hurled it straight at him.
The sound of armor plates clashing against each other over my bulging shoulder muscles was the lesser of the shocks. With a roar I couldn't believe even as I threw it, the javelin tore out of my hand and shot into the sky as fast as if it were plunging into the ground.
I was somewhat confident in throwing thanks to all the axe hurling recently, but not confident enough to hit at that distance, yet fortunately the javelin flew exactly at the Water Buffalo Horn I was aiming for.
Maybe because they weren't just standing in the air aiming for long-range bombardment but steadily closing the distance, their reaction to the attack was a bit late.
I couldn't see their expressions, but it was clear their movements suddenly deviated.
However, I didn't land an effective hit. Water Buffalo Horn sacrificed his javelin bag to block my attack.
I hadn't expected to send him to the grave with one shot anyway. Catching his javelin and then aiming it back at him was nothing more than wanting to see how far my actions would work against what felt like an overwhelmingly powerful force.
This was enough to pat myself on the back. As soon as the javelin left my hand, I pulled the one stuck in the ground and went into re-aiming.
"So now, come down to the ground and let's talk."
Maybe because it was the second time, confident that it was thrown far cleaner than before, the javelin shot into the sky once more.
This time, the target was the wyvern they were riding.