The Subjugation
The subjugation force made its way north without incident. Four wagons, several dozen people—and not a soul who would dare stand in their path.
Joseph rode in the last of the four wagons. If anyone were going to ambush the convoy, it wouldn't be the fourth wagon they struck. Putting the expedition's primary attacker in harm's way was out of the question; the arrangement was only natural.
Riding in comfort is nice enough, but...
Joseph had never been part of a procession this large, and it felt a little awkward. It didn't help that private soldiers, mercenaries, and priests alike kept fussing over his every comfort, regardless of who they were.
"Mage, are you thirsty at all?"
"Mage, if your backside is sore, shall I lay a cloth down in the wagon for you?"
"Mage, would you care to pray with us?"
"We've come quite a distance from the castle, and yet the road is remarkably well kept."
One of the priests made the remark, and Joseph realized the wagon wasn't shaking nearly as much as it should have been. When he'd ridden Auger's wagon to the castle, his backside had been aching the whole way. This was nothing like that.
A supply route. They must keep it in thorough repair...
They traveled along the even road. They passed through several small villages along the way, but with a party this large they couldn't enter any of them, and so they camped in the open. The villagers, catching sight of the column's size and banners from a distance, could only tremble. According to one village headman, some of the residents had even fled while Joseph's party was camped nearby.
Honestly... Did they think we were going to rob them?
He felt a little sorry for frightening people who'd been living peacefully enough, but what was he supposed to do? There was no way to spare them their fear.
They rode on without obstruction for several days. Then, from a certain point onward, the ground along the road began to show signs of having been violently, deliberately smashed apart.
"...Are these traces of a demonic beast?"
Joseph muttered the question as he looked out from the wagon. A soldier who'd overheard him answered at once. It was Refn, a decurion of Valois Castle.
"That's correct. A little farther ahead, we'll be entering the beast's territory."
Refn swallowed after he said it. Veteran though he was, he made no effort to hide the tension on his face.
"Have you seen a demonic beast before?"
He shook his head.
"...I've seen the corpses of comrades torn apart by one."
Everyone around them fell silent for a moment. Joseph looked over the soldiers, whose unease was written plainly on their faces, and gave a slight shake of his head.
From here on out, I need to start managing their condition.
He climbed down from the wagon and approached Auger.
"It would be best if we camped outside the territory tonight."
Joseph had ridden in comfort, but the others hadn't.
Everyone needs to recover as much as possible before we go in.
They backtracked a short distance along the road they'd come and set up camp on a wide stretch of open ground. They lit a campfire and ate as usual, but conversation was strangely sparse. Everyone was tense.
And Joseph was no exception. He had a plan for dealing with the demonic beast. That didn't mean the tension was easy to shake. Betting your life in a fight wasn't something you got used to, no matter how many times you did it.
That didn't mean he had any intention of backing down here, either.
Kill the thing. Get the spellbook.
Joseph repeated it to himself as he gathered mana through meditation and honed his magic.
When day broke, they left a portion of the private soldiers and mercenaries to guard the wagons and headed into the beast's territory.
The bear-like demonic beast had claimed the nearby forest as its domain. The supply road had been cut straight through that forest, but ever since the beast had appeared one day without warning, the route had become all but impassable.
From its point of view, we were the ones in the way.
Joseph put the soldiers at the very front. They had the sturdy iron armor and shields issued by the castle, which made them the most reliable. Behind them, Auger's retainers and the mercenaries took positions on either flank, watching the sides. Their role was to step in with shields and buy time if the soldiers up front took injuries and had to fall back. The priests were stationed behind them, positioned so they could treat the wounded immediately.
The meat-shield tactic, complete.
Auger stood with Joseph at the very rear. With this many people, splitting opinions would only make things more dangerous, so Auger would command the soldiers. Joseph had his doubts about Auger's leadership given his lack of experience, but the tactics were simple enough that even he should be able to manage.
"Priest Rekor, I would ask that you support the soldiers from the rear as well."
At Joseph's words, Rekor asked,
"Are you certain we need not cast divine magic upon the soldiers first?"
"Didn't you say it didn't have much effect last time?"
"Yes—it was such a powerful beast, you see..."
"Then this time, I'd like you priests to focus solely on the soldiers' recovery."
Rekor nodded and joined the other priests.
"How do you intend to find the creature?"
Auger asked in a lowered voice. He, too, was plainly tense.
How to find it...
They'd entered the beast's territory, but they had no idea where it was or what it was doing right now. Going deep into the forest to search for it was far too dangerous. Joseph shook his head at the question.
"I have no intention of going looking for it."
It was a demonic beast, yes, but at its core it was still an animal. If something happened in its territory, it would come to investigate. That much was certain.
Joseph formed an orb and poured mana into it.
A high, keening hiss rose from the orb as it began to vibrate. Joseph sent it high into the air above his head—high enough to be clearly visible even from a distance.
"There will be a loud noise in a moment."
With that, Joseph poured even more mana into the orb.
BOOM—!!
The orb burst in the sky overhead. The sound rolled out across the forest, carrying far. Everyone dropped low, startled by the sudden shock.
Then silence returned. They all looked at Joseph with questioning faces, but he merely raised his staff again with an unbothered expression. He launched another mana orb.
BOOM—!
And repeated the same thing.
An ordinary animal would run. But this is a demonic beast that rules its own territory.
Having faced an ogre before, Joseph detonated mana again and again with the certainty of someone who knew exactly what he was doing.
Then, a short while later, a roar erupted from somewhere in the forest—deep, furious, and close.
"Th-that's it!"
A few birds burst into the sky not far away. The soldiers' tension ratcheted up at once.
Thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud—!
From the distance came the sound of a beast's footsteps. Rough, as if it were determined to announce its presence with every stride. Several trees toppled on Joseph's left with a splintering crack. It was charging straight toward them. The rumbling in the ground drew closer.
"Here it comes."
The moment Joseph spoke, the demonic beast appeared from the left side of the road, smashing through a tree with its body.
Shit. It's even bigger than I thought.
Ash-gray fur. Several times larger than any bear Joseph had ever known, it drooled freely from eyes bloodshot and red.
"Raise shields!"
Auger drew his sword and shouted at once. The soldiers at the front immediately raised their shields and crouched low. Their faces were fearful and confused, but their training made them the fastest to move. The retainers and mercenaries immediately pressed in behind them, bracing their backs. The priests, meanwhile, took several steps back and prepared to use divine magic.
Seeing so many humans, the demonic beast jerked its head this way and that, uneasy. Then it began to growl low at the subjugation force clustered together like a single mass.
"...The creature seems rather agitated."
Auger's expression crumpled with unease as he watched the beast from Joseph's side. The creature showed no fear of the group. It looked as if it had no thought in its head beyond killing whatever stood before it.
"I never expected a demonic beast to be calm."
It was more or less what he'd anticipated. Even the ogre he'd faced before had been in a frenzy, hadn't it?
"I'll ask that you do exactly as I explained."
Auger nodded without a word.
Then the beast roared and charged at the center of the formation. The way it came at them was similar to how the ogre had charged.
But I'm not the man I was then.
Joseph's eyes didn't waver. Staff in his right hand. Gem in his left. The preparations were complete.
He took a short breath. Circulated the mana in his body. Swung his staff.
Six orbs appeared in the air before him at once. The gem flared, and his mana recovered.
More.
And again, he formed six more orbs. Twelve spheres floated around Joseph. Once the count passed ten, he could feel his fingertips beginning to tremble. If his control slipped even a little, the orbs would scatter into nothing in midair.
Focus.
Meanwhile, the beast swung a forepaw at the soldier at the very front of the formation. The nearest man huddled tight and brought his shield up.
CRASH—!
"Aaaagh!"
The shield crumpled in an instant, and the soldier—along with the two retainers bracing him—went flying backward as if hurled. Other soldiers and retainers immediately stepped in to fill the gap.
"Quickly!"
The priests, who had already been reciting their prayers, rushed to the soldiers tumbling across the ground. They stripped off the crumpled armor and poured divine magic into the wounded man. White light flared, and the color returned to a face that had looked ready to expire at any moment.
Even as they worked, three more went flying. Then two more.
"Soldiers who've recovered, get back in line! Hang on even if you have to cling to each other!"
Auger screamed himself hoarse at Joseph's side. The beast was tearing through the formation, naturally drawing closer and closer to Joseph.
"I-is it not ready yet?!"
As the creature closed in, Auger's face grew paler and paler. But Joseph's expression didn't change. He calmly controlled the orbs, waiting for his opening.
More... just a little more...!
Then, as more soldiers went flying from the beast's claws, more than twenty orbs had risen into the air above Joseph.
...That's enough.
And Joseph moved. He poured a massive amount of mana into one of the orbs floating in the air. A keening hiss rose from it as the sphere swelled larger and larger. Then, as if it had reached its limit, a rushing sound of wind began to pour off its surface. Joseph sent it flying straight at the beast.
But its speed was far slower than usual—slow enough that the creature could easily spot it.
Look at it. Look at that!
The beast's red eyes locked onto the orb coming toward it. It swung its claws as if to bat the thing aside. At the same time, Joseph chanted.
⟨ RETURN ⟩
The orb transformed into a white wall that unfurled in an instant. The beast's forepaw struck Return and was immediately flung back the other way. At the same time, the white wall that had spread shattered like glass.
The beast screamed in pain. This was distinctly different from the ogre.
It's working!
Blood sprayed from the beast's forepaw, and smoke began to rise in thin wisps. The effect of divinity, it seemed.
"Th-that is...?!"
The priests watching this widened their eyes. Joseph could feel Rekor's startled gaze on him, but he had no time to care. The beast was staggering from the impact of striking Return.
"Hold the line so it can't move freely!"
Joseph shouted until his throat tore, then immediately poured every bit of mana he had into the remaining orbs. A strange hiss rose from them as the pure white spheres began to spin.
More!
Joseph wrung out every last drop of mana. The left hand gripping the gem was burning hot. Cold sweat ran down him, and for a moment his head spun. His vision blurred briefly, then returned. Joseph clenched his teeth and fired every orb at the beast.
And the instant they were about to make contact—
⟨ FIRE ⟩
The countless orbs erupted into roaring flame in an instant. The demonic beast, already off-balance, was engulfed in fire from head to toe. It began to thrash, screaming in agony as the fierce flames consumed it.
"Aaaagh!"
"Aah!"
Several soldiers were caught in its thrashing and sent flying through the air.
"Stay calm! Don't panic! Just keep your shields up and hold!"
Auger's screaming from beside him reached Joseph like a hallucination. Joseph swung his staff again. Once more, several orbs rose into the air. Once more, the gem flashed.
Fire will go out soon. So right now...!
Joseph sent another swarm of orbs flying at the beast. But their trajectories were slightly different. When the orbs, each flying its own path, arrived around the beast still wreathed in dying flames—
⟨ RETURN ⟩ ⟨ RETURN ⟩ ⟨ RETURN ⟩
The orbs circling the demonic beast became white walls all at once, enclosing it.
CRASH—!
CRASH—!
CRASH—!
The beast, writhing in pain, slammed into a white wall, then rebounded into the Return on the opposite side, over and over. Everyone stared, transfixed, as the white walls around the beast shattered one after another like glass. The beast's agonized howls came in succession. Then, when the last of the Returns burst apart, the demonic beast reappeared, its movements noticeably slower.
A wet, gurgling groan escaped it. Smoke rose from its entire body—the effect of divinity, perhaps. Its red eyes wandered, lost.
Not yet!
Joseph didn't stop. The thing was still alive. Still moving.
I don't stop until it's dead!
He swung his staff once more. Countless orbs rose into the air. His mind was growing hazy. He sent the orbs flying at the beast just as they were.
"Die!"
Form them. Fire them. Form them again. Fire them again. The gem flashed countless times, restoring his mana. Dozens of orbs poured toward the demonic beast without rest, a brutal, unending wave of impacts.
Everyone who'd been protecting Joseph in front ducked down. They couldn't even lift their heads against the storm of orbs flying brutally over them.
The uproar that had seemed like it would never stop gradually subsided. At last, the final orb cut through the air.
"Hah... hah...!"
Joseph, who had been pouring out orbs like a madman, drew in a great gasping breath. His spinning head, unlike before, wasn't coming back.
"A-are you all right?!"
Auger came over and supported the staggering Joseph. He looked back and forth between Joseph and the fallen demonic beast, unable to find words.
No—it wasn't just Auger. Everyone else was staring at Joseph in stunned silence, eyes wide.