Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: 3. Ceres
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The first scream erupted from the far side of the city.
Ceres, Arbelia, and I stepped out onto the terrace.
The southern district of Firendel was ablaze. But it wasn't an ordinary fire.
The flames burned an unnatural purple and black, and the ashes falling from the sky began clumping together into grotesque shapes the moment they touched the ground.
This was abnormal. My face hardened. I forced the words from my throat, my voice trembling.
"What... what is that? I've never even heard of flames like those."
"That's... magic."
Arbelia murmured, her face pale.
"A devil summoning ritual, to be exact."
"D-devils?"
Ceres asked back in a voice thick with terror.
"Yes. Devils. The whole of Firendel is being offered up as sacrifice."
Arbelia drew her sword as she spoke. A solemn mana began to infuse the blade.
Even from afar, I could feel the chilling edge of that sword. Arbelia glanced back at me, her expression as if debating whether to say it or not.
"...Walther, please take care of Ceres."
I nodded gravely. Ceres looked worried for Arbelia but clung tightly to her.
People were fleeing from the south like mad.
"Kyaaaah!!"
Arbelia looked down at the streets. Aberrant creatures were crawling up from the southern district.
Lesser devils. Byproducts leaking from the human sacrifice ritual.
At that moment, a massive pillar shot up into the sky from the city center. It was a blood-red hue tinged with mud.
The instant the pillar rose, screams exploded simultaneously across all of Firendel. Thousands, tens of thousands of voices shrieking in unison.
The human sacrifice had truly begun. Pretending ignorance, I asked Arbelia,
"W-what's happening? And what are those things...!"
Arbelia's eyes darkened, deepening.
"Bees swarming a flower. That pillar is a kind of flower stem. It takes root in the continent and forms a flower bud."
"...!!"
"It hasn't bloomed yet, but the moment that flower opens, a new devil will descend upon this world."
The red pillar blooming in southern Firendel was still in the sprout stage.
"But it won't be long before that sprout grows into a bud. We have to sever the stem before the flower blooms."
Arbelia could surely stop the summoning ritual.
But that wasn't what I wanted. I subtly shoved Ceres forward.
Ceres grabbed Arbelia's arm.
"You're going alone? With things like that down there?!"
"That's precisely why I'm the Sword Saint."
Arbelia's response was firm. She turned to me and nodded.
I schooled my features into a mix of maximum anxiety and resolve, then nodded back.
"Please. Protect this city... these people."
Even as I said it, I thought it wasn't my line to deliver.
Without another word, Arbelia leaped over the terrace railing. Her clothes fluttered as she was sucked into the chaotic city below.
The red pillar pierced the heavens, shaking the entire city.
The air grew thick with the heavy stench of blood, and ear-splitting screams echoed from every direction.
"Ceres. This place is too dangerous. We need to run—now."
"Uncle, where do we go?!"
Ceres clutched my sleeve tightly. Her hand was trembling.
"There's a secret passage in the mansion basement. We can escape Firendel through there."
As I spoke, I calculated in my head.
Lesser devils generally moved on instinct. They were spreading out from the pillar.
'Send Ceres northeast.'
Three servants hurriedly followed us. The butler Roy, the cook Vera, and the young maid Lily.
"This way, Master!"
Roy led us down the corridor. The marble hallway shook with explosion sounds from afar.
The moment we reached the first-floor entrance hall, the massive oak front door shattered to pieces.
"Grurk!"
"Kieeeek!"
With grotesque cries, monsters surged in.
Lesser devils. Their skin peeled like burnt meat, green flames burning in their three eyes.
Arms ending not in claws but in scythe-like curved bones swept through everything.
"Back!"
I shoved Ceres aside and shouted. At the same time, I yanked a decorative sword from the wall.
I swung it wildly like a novice. My footwork and breathing were a mess.
One devil exploited the gap and lunged at Lily.
"Kyaaaah!!"
Lily's waist was sliced in two by the scythe-blade before she could even scream. Blood and entrails splattered across the ornate carpet.
"Lily, no!!"
"Not now! This way—hurry...!!"
Roy grabbed Vera's arm and pulled. I stayed behind to the last, keeping the devils at bay.
Only after the three had escaped did I charge into the corridor.
The ground shook beneath my feet. Plaster began falling from the ceiling.
A second lesser devil pounced on Vera.
The instant she turned, its sawtooth maw devoured her face. She died without a scream.
"Kyaaak!! Sis! Siiiis!!"
"Ceres! Pull yourself together and move!"
I seized her wrist and dragged her. Roy, who had run ahead, opened the basement door.
His face drained of color as he turned to wait for us.
He started to shout something, then gave up and bolted inside.
Clank! It locked from within. I pounded on the basement door like mad.
"Roy! Roy!! Open this door, Roy!!"
But it wouldn't budge. He'd fled after locking it.
I twisted the handle as if to shatter it. Then Ceres shook my body.
"U-Uncle!! There! Monsters are coming!"
Gripping the decorative sword, I faced off against the devils. I swung wildly to keep them at bay.
Without looking back, I yelled at Ceres,
"Ceres!"
"The door—the door won't open! Roy! Uncle Roy, please, open the door!!"
"Find another way! More are coming—urk!"
A lesser devil raked its claw across my abdomen. Searing pain erupted as blood sprayed.
"Uncle!!"
The fire was spreading. Burning wooden beams began to collapse.
One was falling directly over my head. Using the injury as an excuse, I countercharged the devils.
"Over here, you monsters!"
I cleaved one in half and severed another's arm.
My index and middle fingers on my sword hand were sliced off, and my left eye went blind.
The burning pillar crashed down exactly between me and Ceres.
Now she could neither see me nor reach me. Exactly as I'd planned.
"Gaaah! Stay back—stay away!!"
I screamed desperately and began slaughtering the devils in earnest.
I dodged incoming attacks and took hits from blind spots on purpose.
Minutes passed as I butchered them. Then I sensed something off.
"Grurk...!"
The devils weren't approaching me. When I advanced, they retreated.
They felt instinctive fear from the overwhelming gap.
'These bastards...'
With no choice, I pretended to fight, deliberately clanging my sword against the wall to make noise.
The fire engulfed the entire mansion. Inside the smoke-filled interior, there was no room to breathe.
Realizing the time had come, I vaulted over the pillar.
Burns covered my body, but I didn't care much.
"U-Uncle, are you oka... y-your arm...!"
I ignored her and slashed the basement door open. With the severed door swinging wide, I pushed Ceres inside.
"Ceres. Listen carefully from now on. Head down to the basement—there'll be a passage. Follow it, and you'll escape Firendel. That's where you need to go. You can do it, right?"
"B-but Uncle. I...!"
The mansion began to crumble. I gripped Ceres's shoulders.
"Ceres. You go first. I'll deal with these things and follow right behind you."
Ceres said something, but I couldn't delay any longer.
Pretending something lunged from behind, I let out a strained groan and turned away.
I swung at empty air.
"Go—hurry!"
"Uu... Y-yes! I promise!"
Ceres ran off. Right on cue, the mansion fully collapsed.
I turned back as the debris buried me, locking eyes with Ceres for a split second.
Kwaaaang!
How much time passed? Buried in the rubble, killing time until my consciousness began to fade.
Ernst Walther was dead.
I awoke again in a spare body I'd prepared in advance.
The mansion garden. This spot had narrowly escaped the fire.
'A perfect finale.'
I gazed toward southern Firendel. The red pillar split into twelve branches, beginning to bloom into gorgeous flowers.
Arbelia hadn't stopped the summoning ritual in time.
"Grurk!!"
A few devils charged at me. I butchered the approaching ones with the sword at my waist.
The world darkened as if the end was nigh.
The setting sun overhead dimmed, a bluish light seeping from its edges.
'Now, time to go welcome Arbelia.'