First Mission (5)
"…So that's what happened."
Having received treatment, Carlson recounted the entire affair from beginning to end. To think that rumor had actually been true. Judging by what he described, it was an extraordinary incident.
The appearance of new magic beasts was relatively common. Those creatures seemed to evolve with the passage of time, after all. But a magic beast with intelligence… According to ancient records, such a thing occurred maybe once every two hundred years—if that.
And the greatest such catastrophe in recent history had taken place roughly seven hundred years ago. The being that had appeared then, known as the Demon King. Fortunately, it had been in the neighboring Kaios Empire, not the Ruthenia Empire.
An unprecedented disaster in which it had led a legion of millions of magic beasts and reduced an entire nation to scorched earth. The Ruthenia Empire, the elven nation of Albrheim, and the beastmen's Kronos Federation had all come to its aid. But the result had been annihilation. Everything had been destroyed beyond the point where it could function as a nation—the country itself had ceased to exist. The remaining people had been absorbed into the Ruthenia Empire, leading to the present day.
And now… was such an event about to happen again?
"…I see. For now, I understand. Go and rest."
Karen dismissed Carlson and sank into thought. If something like this had arisen along the way, it would have been better to simply turn back. The fact that the witness had been injured made it highly likely the report was true. All she needed to do was send the knight order once he returned.
"…No. This is my fault."
He was that kind of man. A man who would take "go take a look" to mean "if there's a problem, solve it before you come back." She had known this about him, and yet she hadn't explained things carefully. The blame was hers.
As she was lost in these thoughts—
Knock knock—
Heily visited the office. Karen asked in a weak voice:
"Still no word?"
"No, my lady. No one has come or gone since Lord Orion left."
A hollow sound escaped her. Outside the window, the sunset was already fading. She recalled his words—that he would return before the sun set.
Then Heily spoke.
"He will come back."
Her tone was firm. But Karen, who had known her for so long, could tell. The force in her voice was strong, yet there was no certainty behind it. It was simply an attempt to soothe her master's feelings, to put her at ease.
"…Yes. Let's wait a little longer."
Coming from that tender-hearted girl. Though it never showed on her face, how much worry must she be carrying? Karen couldn't very well add to that burden herself.
"Go and rest. There's nothing more for you to do."
"Yes, my lady. Understood."
After sending Heily away, Karen was left alone in the office. She picked up the documents scattered across her desk—the miscellaneous tasks she'd brought over that afternoon when her mind had been in turmoil. But she hadn't managed to complete a single one properly.
"Haa…"
Night was falling; darkness was settling in. If she summoned the knight order on a night like this, not only would morale plummet—the risk itself would be enormous. At the earliest, they could march out at dawn tomorrow, the moment the sun rose. For now…
"I suppose all I can do is wait."
Karen gazed at the castle walls where darkness was gathering. What was happening beyond them…
Slash—
"Gueh…"
The Minotaur let out a feeble death cry and collapsed.
"Huff… huff…"
Orion gripped his sword, scanning every direction as he steadied his ragged breathing. Countless magic beast corpses. Wherever he went, the nauseating stench of blood hung thick in the air.
"Ugh…"
Familiar magic beasts. Killing them hadn't been particularly difficult. The problem was stamina. He'd already slaughtered a year's worth of magic beasts. As a human being, it was only natural that his limbs were trembling and he felt drained of all strength.
Still, there was good news.
"Too bad. Looks like you've run out of minions to throw at me."
The magic beasts that had swarmed endlessly. No matter how many he cut down, he'd always sensed more presence among the ruined buildings. But now, even that was gone.
"I get that you worked hard gathering them all, but just die already."
The black-robed figure, left alone after losing all its magic beasts. Orion trudged toward it. It hadn't moved a single step from where it first stood. Had it realized the situation and given up? Or did it still have a last resort?
"Doesn't matter."
Orion raised his sword. Whatever else…
"It's one-on-one. You think I'm losing?"
Before that—
"Hey, just stay right there. I'm gonna climb up a bit."
It wasn't stylish, but he had no choice. The black robe was floating in midair above the central ruined building. To reach it with an attack, he'd have to climb the ruins.
"Alright."
Not having the strength to leap was a flaw, but what could he do? Once he took it down, everything would be fine. Thinking that, he was laboriously climbing the ruined building when—
Saaaaaaa—
Orion didn't know. That the black-robed figure was doing something.
"Huh? What's that sound?"
Grunting as he climbed, Orion poked his head up. A dark purple light was flowing from the black robe's staff.
"What the hell is that—"
By the time he realized, it was already too late.
"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOO—!!!!"
A magic beast's roar he'd already heard more than enough of. The sky was turning to night, drowning in darkness. Inside the ruined buildings, there were many blind spots, and securing a clear field of vision was difficult. But Orion instinctively sensed the killing intent surging toward him.
CRASH—!!!
An axe slammed into the spot where Orion had been. The ruined building began to crack, then collapsed. Orion, who had dodged swiftly, managed to get outside the building—only to be stunned by the situation he now faced.
"Grrrr—"
"GUOOOOOO—!!"
The dead magic beasts had come back to life. Or rather… was "come back to life" even the right way to put it? The corpses strewn about remained as they were. Yet dark-purple-tinged magic beasts, as if their souls had been pulled free, were surrounding Orion.
"I'm screwed."
BANG—!!
Whoosh—
"Ha, what is this, some kind of out-of-body experience?"
Orion clicked his tongue. Those dark-purple magic beasts vanished like smoke the moment he applied even a little force. They didn't seem to possess any special abilities. But there was a problem.
"Gah—!!"
Blocking attacks from three of them, Orion's stamina gave out and he was sent flying, tumbling across the snowfield. Their raw power was the same as before. And the same countless numbers as at the start. Even if they were easier to kill, without stamina or visibility, this was a desperate situation.
Should he run?
"…No. Not after coming this far."
Seizing the gap that had opened between them, Orion pulled a white liquid from his bag. Something Arnold had given him.
"Ha, I wasn't planning on using this…"
He still wasn't used to handling mana. And after using this power once before, his whole body had been wracked with muscle pain, so he'd tried to avoid using this white liquid as much as possible. But now wasn't the time for such concerns. This was the only means of long-range attack he had. And he had a feeling that if he fled without taking that thing down, he'd regret it for the rest of his life.
"All or nothing."
Orion popped the lid and downed the white liquid. Just like before, heat surged through his entire body as if he were on fire. He felt that pure white energy.
"Shit, I'm gonna be bedridden for three days after this."
The energy traveled up his arm and into his hand. And when it fully reached his hand—
"Oh…"
The pitch-black blade began to glow pure white. Is this what they call gear carry?
Orion gripped the hilt with both hands and fixed his eyes on the black-robed figure. An overwhelming presence flowed out along with the pure white energy surrounding him. Only one chance.
He stepped one foot forward and lowered his stance. Steadying his breath once, he locked precisely onto his target.
"Grrrr—"
"GUOOOOOO—!!"
The magic beasts' demeanor changed. Without exception, they began swarming to protect the black robe.
"You think that'll be enough?"
Countless magic beasts obscured the black robe. Packed so densely that the black-robed figure vanished from sight entirely. But it didn't matter. Orion's gaze had been fixed for a long time already.
"Alright. Let's go."
A brilliant light enveloped the sword. Rotating the foot he'd stepped forward—he swung the sword with all his might.
Spatial Slash
WHOOSH—
A sword aura stretching straight ahead, dyeing the surroundings pure white. It split everything precisely in half. The pure white light became a single line, severing the life of every magic beast in its path. The dark-purple beasts vanished one after another into smoke without even managing a death cry.
And at the end of it—
Saaaaaaaa—
The black robe let out an eerie sound and faded away. But the sword aura didn't lose its momentum, continuing onward. As if it meant to cleave the very sky.
And for a single moment—the sky cleared.
Karen, unable to sleep, had ended up coming to the knight order's quarters. If she was going to be fretting all day, she figured it was better to at least prepare some contingency plans in advance.
That was when it happened.
FLASH—!!
The world outside the window blazed as if a sudden thunderbolt had struck. Wondering what it was, she opened the window, and a clamor of voices reached her ears.
"What the hell is that!?"
"Whoa, is that a falling meteor or something?"
Karen looked in the direction they were pointing. It was only for an instant, but she saw it clearly. Beneath the darkness of night—a pure white beam of light.
"Ah, my lord. Regarding tomorrow's expedition, I have a report—"
"No. That won't be necessary."
A smile rose to Karen's lips.
"We won't need to go."
Who knew what he'd done this time. But it was a light that put her deeply at ease.