Stranded (2)

The magic stone left my hand, blazing as it flew.

The distance was short, and I had thrown with everything I had, so landing the hit was no trouble. The White Phosphorus Stone struck the creature square in the chest.

Flame erupted.

The monster howled.

The firestorm swallowed its entire body in an instant. It thrashed in desperation. Pointless. No amount of flailing was going to snuff out that blaze.

At last, writhing in agony, the thing flung away its spear and iron club. The wooden spear rolled toward me.

I snatched it up and settled into a ready stance at once. The monster did not attack. It was too busy slapping its short legs against the ground as it fled for the sea.

It did not get far. Before it could even make it down the hill, the creature had become a charred corpse. A single white speck glittered among the ashes, then faded. The soft sound of a life ending drifted through the air.

"Huuuuuh."

I finally managed to steady my ragged, choking breath.

What the hell was that thing?

There was no time to sort out my thoughts. The threat was far from gone.

Before I knew it, the Valkyrie had picked up the iron club and was closing in. She grimaced, pressing a hand to her side.

"Hey, mage. Say something."

"What?"

"What the hell are those monsters? Another one of your side's little projects?"

She looked thoroughly rattled herself. The problem was, I had no idea what she was talking about.

"What are you saying?"

"Ha. Right. You don't speak Ascalian, is that it?"

The Valkyrie sighed, then reset her stance. Contempt and fury still burned in those golden eyes. She made no effort to hide her hostility.

What? Didn't that monster just injure her? How is she still thinking about fighting?

I tensed as well, leveling the spear tip at her.

But the standoff did not last long.

Slap.

At the sound that followed, both our heads snapped around at once.

Slap, slap, slap.

"Grraaagh."

"Krrk, khek."

Creatures identical to the one from before came into view.

Two, four, six, eight… roughly a dozen of them, by my count. Murderous intent rolled off their bulging eyes in waves.

"Damn it."

"Shit."

At this rate, we were dead. Not at human hands — at the hands of these grotesque fish-monsters.

I looked at the Valkyrie. She was looking at me.

"Hey."

"Yeah. I know what you're about to say."

"Just for today. A ceasefire, just for today."

"Better a person than these monster bastards, I guess…"

The Valkyrie, still wearing a sour expression, gave a nod. I wasn't sure the meaning had fully gotten across.

But of one thing I was certain.

Every human has a survival instinct. And that instinct is powerful enough to devour rage, vengeance, and every other emotion whole.

When death is staring you in the face, even the enemy you were fighting moments ago can become an ally.

"Take it."

"Take it."

I handed her the spear still charged with holy power, and in exchange took the club.

A weapon the fish-monster had been holding.

For some reason, I could still sense a faint trace of mana in it.

Not much — but I would take whatever I could get.

I manipulated the mana lingering in the club and cast a basic spell, lengthening it and hardening its structure. At the same time, the Valkyrie murmured an incantation of her own.

A corona of light bled out around the Valkyrie's body. A paired technique of Consecration and Blessing. I'd heard it involved offering oneself to the divine in exchange for the power to strike down demons, but I didn't know the details.

"Grraaagh."

The fish-monsters completed their encirclement of the campfire. Most were bare-handed, though a few carried blunt weapons.

The Valkyrie and I put our backs together.

I took the west.

She took the east.

Each of us would have to handle at least five. Whether we could manage it was anyone's guess.

No — we had to. Fail to hold them, and we both died.

I forced my eyes wide and clenched my teeth. Emptied my head. Honed every sense to a razor's edge.

The Valkyrie charged first, breaking toward the opposite side. She drove her spear through one of them before the monsters could fully form ranks. Clearly her elite reputation was no empty boast.

I, for my part, dug in with the campfire between us. Their approach slowed considerably. They seemed afraid of the fire.

"Either come at me or get lost. Pick one."

One of them tried circling around from the side. As stupid a move as its face suggested. I rushed the exposed creature and smashed it across the skull. Clang! A clean, ringing impact.

I kicked it over and fell back. The monster I'd struck twitched as if seized by rigor, then went limp.

"Next."

Crack!

"That's two down."

This was doable. Their reach was a little long and they liked to ambush, but their durability itself wasn't particularly high. Fighting with solid ground at my back, I could put them down.

Confidence settled in.

Then three. Then four.

Picking my openings and dropping them one by one, I felt my shoulder start to grind.

I was sleepy, hungry, and thirsty. The night air carried a chill. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been this miserable.

Thankfully, the end of the fight was finally coming into view.

Crack!

"…Any more?"

Everything in front of me was down. I turned. The Valkyrie was shaking scraps of flesh off her spear.

Our eyes met.

I nodded first. She returned the gesture. We both made our way back to the fire.

"Don't come any closer than that."

She kept her distance.

I had no intention of closing it either. One wrong move and that spear would go through my skull.

The fire was dying, so I hurriedly fed it more wood. The flames, devouring the dry leaves, threw out a brighter light. The Valkyrie made a small sound and hunched her shoulders.

Curious, I glanced over — and she scowled, muttering under her breath.

"Mind your own business."

Roughly: What are you staring at?

Not that I cared much either way. Whether she caught a cold or hypothermia from sitting around in those soaked clothes was none of my concern.

I put her out of my mind and turned over the day's events.

Those monsters.

Could they be magical beasts?

If so, a few ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠things started to make sense.

That single assumption would explain why the mana concentration on this island felt higher than anywhere else.

But I'd always been told that magical beasts went extinct after the Demon King was slain long ago — that every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠last one was hunted down.

Wait. Then… was this island a place civilization had never touched?

A cold unease settled in my gut.

Either way, the next problem was what came after.

We'd killed the monsters, but there was no guarantee more wouldn't come.

And then there was the Valkyrie sitting across from me.

I could die at her hands the moment I fell asleep. We'd fought side by side just now, but at the end of the day we were sworn enemies.

"…Hah."

Damn it.

Why did it feel like I was going to be pulling an all-nighter?

Going without sleep entirely wasn't an option. Sleep restored stamina. And only then could I replenish my mana.

That said, sleep wasn't the only way to recover mana.

I leaned back against the rock and closed my eyes.

Smell. Hearing. Touch. I focused every sense but sight. Through meditation I quieted my mind and began the work of feeling out the mana in the air around me.

With every breath out and every breath in, energy circulated. Little by little, I drew the scattered ambient mana into myself.

Breath Weaving.

Also known as Mirkil.

Before the invention of Ekirel potions — condensed from refined mana — countless mages had relied on this method of accumulation. These days it was obsolete, but back then it had supposedly been an efficient training technique.

Never thought I'd be gathering mana the old-fashioned way.

Again.

"Ssssss."

In. Out.

"Huuuuuh."

My mana capacity wasn't large. If anything, it sat well below average. A few high-tier spells and I was bone-dry.

The reason I'd still managed to earn First-Class National Mage credentials came down to one thing.

Efficiency.

I had the ability to construct magical formulae that normally required a hundred units of mana using only one or two.

It wasn't raw talent. It was the product of rigorous theoretical study and deliberate, methodical training. That was why my specializations were Optimization and Normalization.

Because the absolute quantity was small, recovery kept pace with depletion. Within a short time, I had enough for a few basic spells again.

I cracked my eyes open.

The Valkyrie was lying on her side, eyelids shut.

She didn't look well.

She kept pressing at her ribs, face twisted, biting down on her lip. Broken ribs, maybe?

"Tsk."

None of my business. Not like I could fix it anyway.

I pulled out the raw stones I'd picked up earlier and poured mana into them.

Alarm Stones.

Primary mana-reactive bodies derived from sandstone — apply pressure and they discharge mana as an electric current.

I arranged them in a tight ring a short distance from the fire. This way, I'd know the moment a magical beast approached.

"…"

At some point, the Valkyrie had gone completely still.

I called out carefully.

"Hey. You asleep?"

"…"

No response.

Soft snoring drifted over the campfire. The hand that had been nursing her injury no longer moved. She was out cold.

This was my chance.

If I circled the fire and struck from behind, even a Valkyrie with lightning reflexes wouldn't be able to do a thing. And she was injured, on top of everything.

I took up the iron club and my knife and moved with care.

I knew it was a dirty move — calling a ceasefire and then stabbing her in the back.

But still.

Was there any guarantee this Valkyrie wouldn't kill me tomorrow?

She had killed my comrades, and I had killed hers. One emotional outburst from her and I was a dead man.

Better to finish it cleanly here.

I could see the spot. Drive the club into the back of that round skull, then open her throat with the knife, and it would be done.

Slowly, carefully, I raised the club.

"…"

But if I did this…

I had the distinct feeling I would hit rock bottom as a human being.

In the middle of a battle, fine — you do what you have to. But this was a shipwreck. We were stranded. Even if she was the enemy, was it right to take the life of someone who was hurt, exhausted, and completely defenseless?

Of course I was afraid of dying.

But losing my humanity terrified me more.

If I were killed, the pain would last only as long as the moment itself. But if I stained my conscience, I'd spend the rest of my life choking on it.

I wrestled with it, turning it over and over, until I finally arrived at something that resembled a rationalization.

"…The monsters. If it weren't for those monsters."

This was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠island where monsters lived. That much was clear. The existence of magical beasts long thought extinct was evidence that human civilization had never reached this place.

In other words, there was a solid chance this was an uninhabited island.

To survive on an island crawling with monsters, you had to cooperate with whoever was available — even if that someone had been pointing a gun at your head minutes earlier.

And what if the Holy Kingdom found this island before the Magic Kingdom did?

If I'd made an enemy of the Valkyrie, or if I were alone, the best I could hope for was captivity. If the ones who arrived ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were military chaplains, I wouldn't even get a rescue — I'd be shot on the spot.

But if I showed the Valkyrie even a little goodwill, and if she had any conscience left, there was a chance she might speak well of me.

I knew full well how unlikely that was.

Even so — if I wanted to survive while still remaining a person, this was the only path.

"Consider yourself lucky today."

I lowered the weapon with a long exhale.

"Hhh."

The Valkyrie was shivering hard, clearly freezing.

I shook out my mostly dry uniform jacket and draped it over her. Then I leaned back against the rock and tried for a light sleep.

A couple more magical beasts came through after that, but each time I used what mana I'd recovered and somehow put them down.

Drifting in and out of sleep left my mind frayed and raw.

Staring up at a night sky washed pale with starlight, I let out a quiet sigh.

"Haa."

How did I end up like this?

I wondered if the stones back home were doing all right.