Things the Dead Shouldn't Do (1)
If someone were to ask whether they would be all right or not, the answer was obvious. They would not. The Iron Giant that had appeared before them was an A-rank monster. And if a human body took a direct hit from such a creature slamming its full weight into the ground, it was simply the way of the world that no one could withstand it. Moreover, the shockwave had reached even the distant rendezvous point visible to the naked eye. There was no need to elaborate on how devastating the damage at the epicenter must have been.
However, that only applied to human bodies. A dragon's body could endure it.
“…Wait!! Everyone, get behind me! No, just stay still. This is something I have to do!”
Jurchen, breathing like a madman under the rush of adrenaline, shouted at the others the moment he sensed a suspicious shadow looming overhead. In the next instant, he pushed his polymorph ability to its absolute limit and transformed into a form nearly indistinguishable from a true dragon, shielding everyone with his body. It was the instinctive crisis detection of a skilled tanker, even before he became a dopamine addict.
KUOOOOOOM—!!!
As a result, the herd of wild horses that had not been protected were sent flying through the air with broken bones and twisted organs. The remaining three, however, at least avoided taking the full brunt of the explosion. Everything had been absorbed by Jurchen instead.
Once the wind pressure and storm finally passed, Eclipse—who fortunately had not been seriously injured—slowly opened her tightly shut eyes and groaned.
“Is everyone all right…?! A-are you okay, Jurchen?!”
“Kuh, kuhak—.”
Yet Jurchen collapsed, coughing up blood. He did not seem to be dead, at least. Even for someone boasting such overwhelming tanking ability, taking most of the damage meant for the others had left his body far from unscathed. The fact that he had not lost consciousness was already a miracle.
“Wait, everyone…!”
From what she could see, the only one who had remained relatively unharmed by the wind pressure was Eclipse, who had been crouching low due to exhaustion. Looking around, Cryan lay sprawled atop the corpses of the horses, his condition ambiguous. Karalin, who had at least been shielded by Jurchen, appeared mostly intact—except for the blood flowing from her lower body, specifically between the greaves covering her calves. Without Jurchen, the wound might have been fatal. Her face was twisted in pain.
‘If I leave her like that, she’ll be slaughtered horribly!’
Her heart screamed to rush over and help immediately, but that was clearly impossible.
“I-Io, i-a, io, i-a, io, i-a, o.”
Because right in front of her stood that grotesque creature, staring down at them while muttering incomprehensible nonsense.
With the Iron Giant looming so close, the Steel Hawks that had been pursuing them began to encircle the group in a wide formation.
“…Ah, no.”
Thud—.
Thud—.
In that moment, Eclipse’s heart began to pound violently. It was her first true brush with death. Soon everything would end, and all the time she had lived until now might vanish into nothingness. The thought sent waves of terror crashing over her.
She had offered to help Karalin because that was what a hero was supposed to do. But now, faced with imminent death, her mind went blank. Still, the fact remained that failing to act would mean total annihilation. She drew her sword and assumed a stance against the Iron Giant.
“I-I won’t break…! I am Eclipse, successor of the Sun-Obscuring Swordplay…! And daughter of Lagrang!”
But it was futile.
Grab—.
Before she could do anything, the Iron Giant seized her and lifted her into the air. Eclipse was dragged upward helplessly.
“A-ahhh…! Aaaah…!”
“No, Eclipse!”
Karalin, who had only just regained consciousness, cried out in horror upon seeing the scene. Yet there was no way to stop the giant’s massive hand from crushing Eclipse’s body.
“Ugh, urk… Uwaaah…!!”
Pressure. The crushing, helpless sensation only an insect could feel when being squashed. Pain. Suffocation.
“S-save… I-I don’t want to die…”
“Damn it, I’ll kill you. I’ll slaughter every last one of you! Aaaaargh!”
Eclipse could see Karalin tearing at her own hair like a madwoman, screaming as she charged forward on a limp leg, scattering storms in her wake. But that was the last thing she saw.
With an overwhelming pain that felt as though her entire body were being crushed, Eclipse’s consciousness snapped.
…….
…….
“Eh?”
Yet the moment she opened her eyes, the surroundings were bright. A pleasant breeze brushed against the bridge of her nose.
“Uwaaaah?! Where—where is this?!”
“Shh. Miss Eclipse. This is the sky.”
“D-did I die?”
Even more bewildering was the realization that she was being held tightly in the arms of a beautiful woman with crimson hair. As she tried to make sense of the situation, she noticed something else—she was riding atop a dragon. The ride had been so smooth she had not even noticed.
“Kyaaaah!”
Being mounted on a divine beast was just as surreal as waking up right after dying. Startled, she twisted in panic, but the red-haired beauty only laughed softly and reassured her.
“Don’t be so surprised. You’re not dead, Miss Eclipse. Your role simply ended, so we pulled you up to the sky. How about it? Impressive, isn’t it? A master of celestial magic can do this much with gravitational manipulation.”
“Th-that’s no different from being dead, is it?! I’m not very smart, so I don’t understand difficult words…”
The woman pondered for a moment before replying.
“…It was all Senior Yohan’s will. Yomen.”
“Y-Yohan?!”
“Anyway, preparing for the aerial assault that’s coming soon is more important right now. Do you know how to breathe properly in the air?”
“…Hiek?”
“I’ll assume you’re coming along as well, so I’ll teach you.”
Eclipse had no idea where to even begin processing any of this. She was utterly bewildered.
***
Puhwaaak—!
Eclipse burst apart. From the Iron Giant’s hand, red things that should never have come out of a body’s orifices sprayed across the sky. Though it was a dark midday, the sight unfolding right before their eyes was impossible to miss.
When her corpse fell limply to the ground, Karalin screamed like a wounded beast.
“No……!”
It was because of her. Everything was her fault. She had subtly hinted that she wanted everyone to follow her because she needed help, yet as someone who would gladly trade her own life to protect her party members, she had been forced to watch Eclipse die without being able to do anything—simply because she had been knocked down by the storm. She had expected the worst, but accepting it was another matter entirely.
Eclipse, that small, adorable, and kind child, had died simply because she had accepted Karalin’s foolish suggestion and followed her. Overcome with grief, Karalin chewed on her rage.
“I’ll erase everything. I’ll kill them all, annihilate them…!”
She smashed through countless Steel Hawks, scattered storms, and roared as she fought.
“I-ioa, uo, a, i—!”
But every time she was struck by the club the Iron Giant swung as though playing with her, her entire body shook as if it would shatter.
KUANG—!
“Kuhak….”
“I-i, a, o?”
After exchanging several blows while enduring the Iron Giant’s raw power, Karalin soon reached her limit. She collapsed, leaving the unconscious Cryan and the immobilized Jurchen behind her. She, too, had exhausted herself completely.
She drew in ragged breaths, swallowing the sense of powerlessness.
“Is this… the end? So this is how it ends…?”
She had worked so hard to become a master worthy of Yohan. Yet once again, she had been unable to change anything. Just as she had been forced to send Yohan away powerless, she had gotten Eclipse killed and was now sending away the few people who had looked after her as well. Even knowing that breaking here would render their deaths meaningless, she remained unable to do anything—her body dominated by physical fatigue and pain, kneeling helplessly.
So Karalin laughed.
“Haha, hahaha…!”
Empty. Hollow.
“…Haha!”
Then she screamed.
“I am a witch. This is a witch hated by the world! Everything beside me turns to ash and vanishes. I can’t protect anything, I can’t change anything—!!”
She had tried so hard to live, but now it seemed the time had come to accept her fate. The illegitimate child born of sulfurous flames. Perhaps that was the word that truly described her. For the first time, Karalin felt she might have to acknowledge it. Right now, that despair was swallowing her whole.
Flash—.
But at that moment, a light like the sun bloomed from afar.
“…?!”
Not only Karalin, but the Iron Giant and all the Steel Hawks turned toward it. The one radiating that light was someone no one could have imagined.
“First Prince of Karlangk, Vankite von Karlangk, responding to the call!”
Vankite was charging toward them on horseback while deploying solar magic. From around him, the dense darkness that had blanketed the plains began to recede. The sight of that brilliantly shining man riding beneath the sun in this darkened land was truly striking.
At the same time, Vankite unleashed solar rays indiscriminately.
Kyeeeeek—!!
The Steel Hawks’ weakness happened to be solar magic. Countless numbers of them tried to flee from the intense rays he fired. The Iron Giant also froze in place, its murderous intent toward Karalin abruptly halted.
The natural question of how the weakest prince could accomplish such a feat was drowned out by the sheer majesty of his presence. No one watching could even think it.
Vankite closed the distance in an instant, stepping between the kneeling Karalin and the Iron Giant. He glanced back over his shoulder and spoke with leisurely confidence.
“…It must have been hard.”
“……….”
“Don’t worry. You can leave the rest to me now.”
He extended his arm, preparing to fire a solar ray at the Iron Giant. But just as Vankite struck his ominous pose—
Crack—.
The spot where Eclipse’s corpse had lain split open, and what everyone had thought was Eclipse’s body transformed into the crushed remains of a deer.
“…Huh, wait? What the hell is that?”
Vankite momentarily broke character, his eyes rolling back as he tilted his head in confusion. This shouldn’t have been possible. He had personally controlled the Iron Giant to kill Eclipse. Of course, if anyone had been present, they could have explained, “Because ten minutes have passed.” But since there was no one to say it, the mystery remained unsolved for him.
Yet right on cue—
Krrrrrrk—!!
【KUUOOOOO!!】
The sky split open, clouds parted, and from within fell a black meteor.
THOOOOOM—!!
The black meteor slammed its claws down onto the Iron Giant and landed, carving massive cracks into the ground from the sheer impact. This was… What on earth was this? Whose doing was it?
Whooooosh—.
“…Hah?! W-wait, hold on!”
The moment he identified the figure, Vankite’s face turned pale.
“Uh, uh…”
And on Karalin’s face—
“A-ah. Aaah, aaaaah—!”
An expression of shock she had never worn in her life bloomed. Even without removing the mask or speaking, she knew who it was just by looking.
“My lady, I apologize for the wait.”
That low voice spoke calmly, as always.
“And Vankite. You’re dead now, you son of a bitch.”
It was that man.