Anomaly on the Western Front (2)
[Hey, that guy's a real mad bastard. He's got the guts to crack jokes even after seeing that mess.]
[You vulgar curved blade! Are you saying our master looks like some abyss minion ready to summon its legions, strike the fortress like lightning, and harvest human lives like a reaper from the pit?!]
[No, I didn't mean it like...]
[There are things you can say and things you can't. It doesn't suit the master's dignity, so at least call him Legion Commander—King if possible.]
[...It was a rank issue!?]
A spicy joke only a fellow enlistee could throw, followed by a sneak attack of disdain for the Dark Knight from his two swords. Kriel let out a deep sigh. But he didn't take his eyes off the bizarre liquid monster mimicking a human.
It was frozen solid for now, but it didn't feel fundamentally defeated.
Gerrick caught his breath and spoke.
"Looks like some insane scrap heap's new toy. Slime-Doppelganger? Whatever we call it, it shapeshifts into the people it eats to sow chaos in the Western Army ranks. Damn it, pulling out gimmicks like that now."
For facing an unknown monster, it was a remarkably calm analysis. Especially considering he'd just lost two comrades in seconds.
At Gerrick's deduction that it was a liquid mechanical soldier sent by the Automaton Totality, Kriel recalled memories from Earth. There was always one just like it in movies about fighting killer machines from the future.
But this wasn't some automaton vanguard. If it were a machine operating to purge the abyss from Tirnanog, it couldn't tolerate the aura seeping from inside that liquid monster.
"...No."
Twitch. The surface of the frozen liquid monster pulsed like a heartbeat.
"This is the work of an abyss spawn."
"Cut off...?"
It was bizarre. The Western Army patrols were elite, but the shadow minions under his command weren't something ordinary means could harm. Unless it was a knight strong enough to sever the very incantation linked by mana.
Those were a rare handful even in the entire Western Army.
"No way the Lion Duke, that mad old coot, stepped in personally."
The supreme commander of the Western Front wouldn't handle something as trivial as a patrol. Even if he wanted to, his staff would reel him in, pointing out the inefficiency.
So either the surviving patrolmen pulled off a suicidal last stand against the shadows, or by sheer bad luck, one of those rare knights happened to be in the patrol that crossed paths with his shadow dispersal route.
"Confirmed Kriel's absence. Another knight, then?"
Kriel, the Western Army's biggest wildcard. He'd tracked the man's movements through the Lir family estate. After diligent inquiries, he'd learned Kriel hadn't returned to the army for quite some time, wandering instead—for reasons unknown.
The latest rumor: the Empire, Ket County. He'd held an engagement ceremony with the count's eldest daughter.
A tale of receiving a gift from the Wild Hunt came with it—hard to believe. But the Wild Hunt he knew wasn't the type to gift the living. Even the Wraith King's version wasn't that friendly.
There were countless differences between Tirnanog RPG and reality, but a Wraith King congratulating an engagement? Unlikely in either.
Probably some fragments of old-era relics obtained while repelling the returned Wild Hunt, distorted in retelling.
He'd judged Kriel had left the Western Army to chase fame and fortune. Jetting between noble territories to secure an engagement with a count's daughter? Political marriage, a stepping stone to higher places.
No reason to look back at a backwater like the Western Army.
"One nagging thing, though..."
The trap he'd set at the Lir estate had been wrecked by Kriel's hand. His heart twinged. A wound from the Lir estate. His mana circuits were shaken; he couldn't perform at full capacity. Synchronization with the shadow minions had dropped sharply as a result.
Normally, he could share their vision and issue real-time commands. Now, with his circuits temporarily degraded, he could only read their experiences after they returned.
The first play to sow chaos on the Western Front with shadows had run aground from the start.
"Should I pull back?"
He was cautious by nature. His instincts screamed to retreat without hesitation when plans deviated early.
But the problem was why he'd come to the Western Front himself.
The Totality possessed a Seven Great Demonic Weapon. A fragment of the king's path. The Demon King's legacy.
He couldn't fathom how that rusted junk heap had acquired it. But one thing was certain: the mad machine wouldn't covet its power. Coaxing or deals were pointless. True to its purpose, it'd try to destroy the weapon to permanently banish the abyss from Tirnanog.
Even one of the three great calamities might not have a sure way to destroy an abyss relic. Unless the Evil Dragon breathed its cataclysmic flames pure with destruction's will.
Mobilizing ancient dwarf wisdom, who knew how long it'd take? But the Totality could toil for centuries, millennia, without calling it wasted time.
Grikenkos's tracking seal on the demonic weapon still held. But the machine's unyielding obsession might erode it anytime.
Even if not destroyed, it'd be lost forever in some automaton scrap heap.
He gauged his status again. The shadow minions were destroyed but could recover by consuming mana. Circuits still off-normal. But automatons were numerous yet lacked decisive power. With enough wits and will, escape was possible.
"The surviving patrol will think the shadows were the automatons' ace in the hole..."
His original plan: shadows devour an entire patrol, then wreak havoc inside the Western Army. Naturally mistaken for automaton work, paranoia rises since any could be disguised. Skirmishes intensify.
First plan failed with the shadow assault. But not useless. The army's overreacting to the "new weapon." Stoke more chaos, escalate sporadic clashes as intended. Their fierce fight would screen his recovery of the demonic weapon.
"Hm? Back to reenlist? You know you start from the bottom again, right?"
Horrific words. Kriel didn't play along with the Lion Duke's savage joke.
"An abyss minion has approached the Western Front."
The Lion Duke's eyebrow twitched. An abyss spawn here? The long, tedious war between automatons and the Allied Kingdoms was a boon for the abyss. Automatons tied down a chunk of Tirnanog's forces without lifting a finger.
Thus, abyss spawn avoided needless meddling. When they did, it was insidious: luring supply officers to force retreats.
Rarely did they show openly at the frontlines.
"How'd you find out?"
"As you said, I went to see Gerrick. Two patrolmen dead, he barely survived. He's in the med tent now."
The Lion Duke's face hardened further. The abyss reaching so aggressively was unprecedented since his command.
"What support do you need?"
"Full authority for investigation."
"You know you're a civilian now?"
"What can I do? It's about avenging my comrades' blood."
The Lion Duke picked up a document from his desk. Kriel's discharge papers. The commander signature at the bottom: blank.
"Knew something like this might happen, so I didn't stamp it yet."
The Lion Duke nodded. With a flourish, he drafted a new order.
"To Senior Knight Kriel of the Western Army Independent Rangers: Annihilate the abyss minions infiltrating the Western Army."
A brief silence. Kriel spoke.
"When this is done, stamp it right in front of me."