The Witch of Oblivion (3)
The black knight stepped out from the darkness. Was that really Hildegard?
"……."
Hildegard—the kingdom’s most wanted criminal, first-class. They said she used to be the captain of a knight order. And not just any captain; she had commanded someone like Melissa as her subordinate. The armor she wore now seemed to reflect her prime…
Crack!
"Hik!"
Hildegard—or rather, the monster pretending to be her—deliberately crushed a skull beneath her boot. Whatever she was.
"Selena! Th-this one looks even more dangerous than the last!"
"Doesn’t matter. Just cut it down."
"That’s easier said than done…!"
Even the ever-confident Angelica had lost some of her swagger. It was only natural. They had barely been holding their own against the Knight of Crimson Flames. Adding a monster mimicking Hildegard to the mix left them with no chance of victory.
Watching anxiously from above, I shouted down to everyone.
"Everyone, run!"
"Shh."
Shhhhhhh—!
Shadows surged in from every direction. At the same time, a sweet fragrance drifted through the air. My mind began to grow hazy as I listened to Leticia’s voice.
"The Scent of Oblivion didn’t work on you, but a simple sleeping fragrance does? I’ll have to write that down."
"Ugh… ugh."
Drowsiness crashed over me like a wave. I couldn’t stay conscious. But it seemed my shout had made Selena and the others look up toward me.
"……."
Even the black knight turned her gaze.
"When you wake up, it’ll all be over."
Swoosh!
Shadows and the beasts of slumber closed in together. My consciousness blurred. Strength left my hands. My heavy eyelids slowly began to close, and I obediently—
Chomp!
"I… I absolutely won’t give up…!"
"Ha? Wait, why are you doing something so pointless!"
…I refused to let it happen. I bit down on my tongue hard enough to draw blood, forcing the drowsiness away. And at that exact moment—
BOOOOM—!!!!
A deafening roar echoed as something shattered. Leticia and I both jerked our heads downward in shock.
There—
"……."
Clank.
The black knight stood with a sword wreathed in dark crimson aura, having just smashed the Knight of Crimson Flames to pieces in one magnificent strike.
"……?"
Huh? Wait a second. Why was she doing that?
I didn’t know the reason, but she had sliced it clean in two with a single blow. The Knight of Crimson Flames had been split neatly from top to bottom.
"What… what is that knight…?"
Even Leticia seemed caught off guard. She swung her staff, but whether she did or not made no difference. The black knight simply continued her work.
Slice!Splat!Crunch!
She tore through the surrounding skeleton soldiers with all sorts of gruesome sounds—using her sword, her fists, even her feet. Her fighting style was less like a knight and more like a wild beast. Just what kind of knight captain had the real Hildegard been in her active days…?
The sight sent chills down even my spine.
"Ugh! What the hell is this situation?!"
The plaza had turned into complete chaos. Leticia, clearly not having anticipated any of this, screamed in frustration. She kept swinging her staff in an attempt to restrain the rampaging monster Hildegard(?), but the knight only flinched slightly before continuing her path of destruction.
"I don’t know what’s going on, but…"
Whoosh!
In that opening, Selena and Angelica began cutting down the remaining monsters. The purple mist that had filled the plaza had thinned considerably, replaced instead by thick clouds of dust kicked up by Hildegard’s rampage.
"Stop it! I said stop!"
In the end, even Leticia began shrieking and flailing. Her screams grew especially loud whenever Hildegard smashed apart the pillars or floor of the plaza.
As I quietly observed the scene…
"Do you have any idea how much effort went into those facilities?! You people are going to take responsibility for—"
In that fleeting gap, I used my gigaam to sense the weakest point in the shadow bindings holding me. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I stabbed at it with the small stone fragment I had secretly kept.
Stab!
"Eh?"
The shadow tore open instantly. While Leticia stood there with a dumbfounded expression, I snatched the staff from her hand.
"Wh-what?! What are you doing! Give that back right now!"
"Like hell I will!"
I wrestled with Leticia for a moment before leaping straight down toward the plaza. It was a height that would at least injure me badly, if not kill me outright. Still, I trusted someone and squeezed my eyes shut.
Thud!
"……."
"…That was extremely close, Ruines."
The one who caught me was Melissa, who had regained her senses. I looked up at her sweat-drenched face. Her memories seemed to have returned somewhat; her usual calm expression was back.
"I’m sorry, Melissa."
For some reason, an apology was all I could manage. Melissa simply shook her head slightly.
"The path of a knight is one that inevitably involves sacrifice. A true knight must never take that sacrifice lightly and must train themselves to minimize it as much as possible."
"…Even to that extent?"
KWAAAAANG—!
I stared blankly at Hildegard, who was still busy demolishing the plaza. Melissa let out a dry laugh.
"That one is an exception to all rules."
"I suppose so?"
A superhuman who had transcended the ordinary. How much effort would it take to reach that level? Or rather, could I even reach it while still alive?
As I was lost in those thoughts—
"Ruines!"
"Selena."
Whoosh!
Selena threw herself at me with all her strength, hugging me tightly. Angelica followed right after, her face full of worry.
"What were you thinking?! You should at least worry us in moderation!"
"She’s actually saying something sensible for once."
"Ouch… that hurts a bit."
I had been tied up so tightly up there… Of course, I kept quiet about that part. Mentioning it would only make them angry.
"If you ever bring up going into a mine or anything like that again, I swear—"
"Haha…"
"You too, Angelica."
"Hik…!"
I laughed awkwardly and scratched my cheek. But then—
"Why do you all think it’s over?"
Leticia’s sullen voice rang out across the plaza. She looked furious, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.
"Even without that pathetic staff, I can clean up the likes of you whenever I want. And do you really think that black knight will leave you alone? She looks like she’s going to destroy this entire place!"
The black knight. The being created from the manifestation of Hildegard’s memories. Even now, she continued her rampage, smashing apart the endlessly rising skeleton soldiers.
The reason the black knight was acting this way was probably…
I let out a small sigh and stepped away from Selena. Then I began walking toward the black knight before me.
"Ruines?"
"It’ll be fine. Probably."
She showed no emotion at all, but through my gigaam, I could sense the black knight’s feelings…
"Excuse me?"
"……."
I approached the knight while holding the staff. With her monstrous strength, she could cut me in half with a single swing of her sword. The dark crimson aura alone was enough to make my back crawl. Yet there was one thing I could say with absolute certainty.
"It’s okay now, Master."
From a distance where no one else could hear, I whispered softly to Hildegard.
The black knight froze. But she didn’t stop there.
"……."
Shhh.
She slowly knelt on one knee before me.
"?"
…I had no idea why she was kneeling. Maybe because I was holding Leticia’s staff? Whatever the reason.
The black knight showed no hostility toward us. This seemed like the perfect moment.
"Leticia."
"Wh-what? Just because you got one fake to kneel…! The tide hasn’t turned!"
"Do you recognize this?"
"What is that dirty coin…? Ah, don’t tell me?"
It seemed something had clicked for her. In that case, I had nothing to hesitate about.
Ting!
I flicked the coin into the air. As if enchanted by magic, the coin began to glow. And when it landed on the ground—
Clink!
The copper coin had somehow turned into a gold coin.
Leticia stared at the gold coin on the floor, unable to hide her shock.
A special coin created by the Golden Witch. It forces witches to engage in fair contracts and trade with humans.
"Th-the Gold Coin of the Golden Rule…"
Thump.
Leticia collapsed to the ground in utter despair. The Gold Coin of the Golden Rule? I didn’t know exactly what it was, but it seemed Janice hadn’t been lying.
Soon, the woman who had been muttering in the corner cleared her throat and stepped forward.
"Ahem. Looks like things worked out."
"What exactly did this accomplish?"
"That coin is like a promise between witches. Once one side throws it, they have no choice but to trade ‘fairly.’"
"W-wait, then that means Janice, you…"
Liz, whose memories had returned, gasped in horror. It made sense. After all, no one knew more about witches than another witch.
Receiving everyone’s suspicious glares, Janice simply smirked and lifted the corners of her mouth.
"That’s right. I am the disciple of the great and magnificent Golden Witch."
Janice puffed out her chest proudly as she spoke, showing not a shred of shame at being a witch’s disciple.
"Even a disciple is still a witch, right?"
"Indeed. We should probably drag her off to the capital after all."
"A fine idea."
"Eh?"
The mood had grown rather strange thanks to that revelation. Still, I calmed everyone down first and turned to Janice.
"More importantly, we’re supposed to be making a ‘deal’ now, aren’t we? How exactly does this work?"
"……!"
I felt Leticia flinch at my words. On the other hand, Janice grinned with confidence.
"That’s something we’ll have to discuss with her from now on. Hey! Why don’t you come down here already?"
"I-I can hear you just fine from here, you know?"
"Really? Or should we head to the grand hall instead? It’ll take some time, but that would be much more…"
"W-wait, wait! Not the grand hall! That would be the end of my life as a witch…!"
"Then what do you suggest?"
"……."
At Janice’s question, Leticia’s face turned deathly pale. Like someone surrendering, she slowly descended to the ground.