The Rider Who Calls Death (12)

“……This looks like the chief is in danger.”

Dana muttered as she watched the Nuckelavee that had transformed into a kelpie like a Matryoshka doll.

“Agreed.”

I clicked my tongue and hurled my spear at the kelpie trying to flee down the river.

Swoooosh—Thud!!

The spear flew fast and punched straight through the kelpie’s head. There was no way I could let the creature go—not when it might start devouring people again somewhere else.

I recalled the spear using the magic engraved on its shaft. The tip glistened with eerie blue blood. I grimaced.

“We need to move too! My gut’s screaming at me!”

Collapsing the formation’s axis was a stupid idea. In a proper army it would have been insubordination worthy of a lead bullet and a skull kiss. But luckily we weren’t the chief’s subordinates. More importantly, the odds of the operation succeeding had become impossible to calculate.

I led the party across the bridge spanning the river.

“My lord, do you understand what is happening?!”

“No, I don’t get it either! But even if I don’t know why, it’s obvious those bastards can cross freshwater! That means the chief’s side will be torn open in seconds!”

This entire plan had been built on the premise that Nuckelavee feared freshwater. The chief’s side held the lowest combat strength. In other words, it was like sending out Chikorita relying solely on type advantage to catch Onix—only to discover Onix was secretly a Fire type. The smug little Grass-type that thought it had the perfect matchup would instantly become canned saury with turnips.

“If we pull the main strike force to take down the leader, the warriors left with the chief aren’t particularly skilled!”

The chief was a shaman and the second-strongest fighter after the war chief, so there were no other real powerhouses on that side. To minimize casualties during the hunt, it made sense to commit the village’s best to the pursuit team. But that obvious decision had left the chief’s defenses dangerously thin. Even two or three Nuckelavee would punch a hole straight through the formation.

Heiromain or Alice? Expecting those two to fight desperately after nearly dying while being chased by a Nuckelavee would be asking for a miracle.

Dana shouted while sweeping her wind-tossed hair out of her face.

“No matter how impressive the magic that summons freshwater is, it’s going to eat a ton of mana! If we assume the chief is safe and get hit by a surprise attack, we’ll lose the leader!”

“If we lose it, we’ll just have to prepare for round ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two in the plains☆!”

“Tsk, exactly! Better to throw everything we have at them before the formation collapses!”

The party’s consensus was to abandon the riverside and launch an all-out assault.

Before leaping into the forest I issued quick orders.

“Veronica! Can you fly up and scout?! If the Nuckelavee is a five-meter-class beast, its movements should be visible from the air!”

“The forest is far too wide! My eyes will not suffice!”

Ah, damn it. Of course. I ruffled my hair in frustration. Veronica could use mana, but her main profession was still that of a mage. And while I could turn into small animals, transforming into a winged creature and flying around was beyond me. My poor aptitude for transformation magic was the bottleneck.

“Veronica! Carry me!”

At that moment Franc shouted while clutching her ring.

Veronica nodded in understanding and spread her wings from her back.

—Flap!

The white Romanian-style dress billowed open as black crow-like wings unfurled. Veronica scooped Franc into her arms and shot upward in a single bound, piercing straight through the forest canopy.

“Can you see anything?!”

“Trees are toppling ahead! The distance is still a little far, but the sounds of battle are—— Ugh!”

Franc groaned mid-shout from the air.

I peered up at the sky through the gaps in the leaves. A black spray of mana was drawing a wide semicircle as it rushed toward our wives.

“Nord, east and west! I sense human presence!”

“Evade! Hold on tight!”

Beating her wings hard, Veronica barely slipped past the long-range slash. Given a mage’s usual mobility, they had been lucky. Which also meant Franc and Veronica had nearly suffered serious injuries.

“What the fuck—who the hell is this bastard!!”

Dana growled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in fury and fired a burst of light toward the origin of the attack. It would have been nice if it were offensive magic, but it was just plain lantern magic. Still, the effect was immediate. The creature hiding in the leaf shadows was exposed by the bright glare.

A creepily formed, skin-only human! It resembled the upper body of a Nuckelavee in humanoid form but was different. That science-lab anatomical-model bastard was standing upright on two legs!

The bastard raised a scythe forged from sea iron.

I widened my eyes and unleashed every ounce of killing intent I possessed.

If it targets Dana or Larilura, we’re screwed!

They were slow on their feet. Considering the risk of injury, it was right for me to step forward as the tank. No matter how grand the concept sounded, killing intent was ultimately just mana leaking from the body. The humanoid Nuckelavee seemed to weigh which of us was more dangerous and shifted its priority.

—Shukagagak!

Just as I intended, the aggro of the slash flew straight at me. The incoming blade! I dodged it without the slightest difficulty. The creature ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn’t very bright. With speed that slow, there was no advantage to attacking from range.

“KLlllllllrrrryyyyy──!!”

“Stop bullshitting and show me your palm!!”

I swung my spear. The fake Nuckelavee that could only stand like a sentry gun and fire slashes had its arm—still gripping the scythe—severed cleanly.

I issued orders while landing.

“Dana! Undead extermination magic!”

Dana didn’t argue that the spell wouldn’t work on evil spirits. She must have assumed I had a reason for ordering it, because she immediately unleashed the magic engraved on her body. The secret art of the Ulster druid lineage unfolded in the blink of an eye. The miniaturized sword of light pierced the enemy’s chest.

—Crunch!

A bizarre blood mist burst out like crushed rotten grapes! The fake Nuckelavee took fatal damage and died without even uttering a death cry.

Dana looked stunned, as if she couldn’t believe her own attack had worked.

“What? Why did that work? Don’t tell me this bastard really was an undead?”

“If undead means a moving corpse, then yes, this thing qualifies.”

I paused briefly to snap off a nearby tree branch. I stabbed the Nuckelavee’s stomach with the sharpened end like a wooden spear. Water gushed out from the body that was so soaked even magic fire wouldn’t catch. The branch became drenched instantly.

I examined the corpse and muttered.

“……No soul remained. It’s like a flash golem.”

If it had possessed a soul, it would have been purified the moment it touched me. This was essentially a moving taxidermy. A grotesque doll created by grafting a corpse—most likely a drowned human—onto the evil spirit known as a kelpie.

I frowned at the unpleasant sensation that soaked into my nerves. It felt like a serial killer inspecting a sofa upholstered in human skin.

This isn’t the kind of thing a normal animal would do.

There are plenty of cruel creatures in the animal kingdom. Highly intelligent ones like Adelie penguins or certain chimpanzees commit acts just as brutal as humans against prey or their own kind without hesitation.

But even those creatures don’t create toys that imitate their own appearance using other living beings.

Cats hunt even when they aren’t hungry. They do it purely for fun. I sensed a similar aura from this “taxidermy toy.” The act of assembling a doll that mimicked itself using human corpses and feeling pleasure from it—what else could that mean?

It meant the maker of these toys had a way of thinking so alien to humans like us that any association was impossible. It truly deserved to be called an evil spirit.

“……Let’s run. We can’t leave this thing alive.”

Desecrating corpses was bad enough, but this creature went further and murdered perfectly healthy, living humans. It probably played with their bodies afterward too. Fucking monster.

That was surely why the villagers had pointed spears at outsiders and refused entry. In the Ulster settlement they had been too busy fleeing pursuers to have any “time to play,” but if the chief died and the village’s fighting strength was halved, the creature would roam the area as if it owned the place.

—Swishswishswish!!

We tore through the underbrush, picking up speed. The salty scent brushed across my nose as I drew steady breaths. It was the smell of sea wind that should never reach this far inland.

We sharpened our nerves and prepared for battle.

After running a short while longer we stopped at an overlook atop a low cliff and finally spotted our target.

[Uuuuuu…….]

It was huge. I nearly sighed. Five meters? Try eight. It felt like a two-story convenience store walking around. Both its width and height were no joke. If it grabbed a human in its palm, it could twist and tear a full-grown adult like a child playing with a toy robot.

Its appearance was almost identical to the fake Nuckelavee we had captured. Of course there were differences. Unlike the “toys” whose peeled skin had been rolled up like curtains, this one had every inch of skin stripped from its entire body.

I realized the real Nuckelavee had grown tired of “assembling” them and simply abandoned the project. Because down below, at least ten of those taxidermy toys were crossing the freshwater and attacking the chief’s group.

“Woooooooooooooooom!!!”

“Jeanne!! Fall back!!”

Alice swung the shield the warriors had given her and smashed an undead that had crossed the river.

—Crunch!

Thanks to the compatibility difference, the undead Nuckelavee died in a single blow.

“Protect the chief!!”

“Maintain the formation!!”

Of course, even a unicorn who was a master of holy magic only had two arms. Whether she couldn’t erect a barrier like that Abidus bastard or not, four warriors were desperately blocking the undead Nuckelavee she failed to stop.

The situation was grim. The chief and Heiromain seemed too busy maintaining the artificial river they had created in the forest to launch any counterattack. It was inevitable. If they cleared the freshwater to deal with the fakes, they would have to fight the massive main body head-on.

Damn it, where the hell is Stella and what is she doing? She’s not dead, is she?

I rolled my eyes quickly and whispered through telepathy.

The moment I sent the message, the Nuckelavee’s head—large enough to swallow a person whole—swiveled in our direction. Its exposed ribs fluttered like they were breathing. The Nuckelavee’s arm shot forward as fast as someone grabbing seasoning from a cabinet!

“We’re screwed!! Everyone fall back!!”

I gave the order and instantly cast Lightning Arrow without a chant.

The Nuckelavee staggered as high-voltage current exploded across its palm. I panicked and spammed back-steps.

—Kwaaaaaang!!!

I had bought enough time to pull back, but my mouth fell open in pure shock. The Nuckelavee’s arm had torn a chunk out of the rocky cliff as easily as if it were ripping apart white rice cake.

If that hand ever grabbed me, it could roll me around in its palm like making New Year’s songpyeon and I’d turn into a human-flesh snowman!!

The Nuckelavee swung its arm while imitating human laughter.

—Kwaaaaaang!!

The cliff shook as if struck by an earthquake and the foothold collapsed. I instantly registered the momentary sensation of floating followed by gravity’s pull, and my face went pale.

I stopped trying to force out mana. I had planned to use steam propulsion to leap backward, but I saw the palm rushing straight at me.

“Shiiiiiiiiit!! Reverse-thrust water rocket!!!”

—Fwoooooosh!!

I redirected the steam ejection downward. Pure gravity acceleration wasn’t enough to dodge, so I chose evasion even if it meant increasing the impact of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fall.

“Nord!!”

“Senior!!”

A hammer throw and Magic Arrow bought me a precious moment. In the gap created by the delayed palm I dashed forward. Stepping across collapsing rocks in Gear Second state while spewing steam, I raced toward the ground.

Honestly it was less running and more tumbling. Falling with this much built-up acceleration would break even me. But stopping meant certain death under the Nuckelavee’s attack.

“An unavoidable binary choice between deaths!”

Then it was only logical to pick the option with the higher survival rate. I fired full-throttle steam from my lower back. The ground rushed up like a video on 8x speed. This was at minimum a compound fracture!

I squeezed every last drop of defense from Beast Regression and roared with determination.

“EMERGENCY ROOM INCOMIIIIIIING!!!”

—Kuuuuuuuung!!