Frontline (2)

Following Karna, we entered one of the tents, and there I found a face that felt vaguely familiar. It was the first time I'd seen him since possessing this body, but I'd seen that face plenty of times through Dungeon in Evil.

"General."

"Mm. You're here."

This place they called the Demon Realm was divided into several frontlines. The commander of the First Frontline—the most central and critical of them all—was this man: General Rosebach.

"Welcome, all of you. Truly, thank you for coming, Hero Erinn."

"It's been a while, Grandpa Rosebach~."

"Haha. That cheeky mouth of yours hasn't changed a bit."

He just called Erinn cheeky to her face!?

A flicker of anxiety hit me—what if this little mesugaki took offense?—but when I glanced over, Erinn looked completely unbothered.

"Speaking of which, Grandpa, looks like you've lost even more hair~♡"

"Hahaha! You noticed!"

…So this was just how they talked to each other.

"I've been under a fair bit of stress lately, you see."

"Hmm~."

"As for the reason—well, I assume you've already heard, since you came with Karna."

"Yep, I heard~ That's why I'm even more curious~."

Erinn narrowed her eyes slightly.

"No operation? What's that supposed to mean~? And what do you mean you lost track of the Oblivion Legion's movements~?"

"Well, about that…"

"My apologies, Heroes."

As General Rosebach hesitated, looking a little awkward, someone stepped forward from behind him and offered an apology.

"I was the one who lost them."

…Who?

The man who confessed so frankly had animal ears perched atop his head—just like Letisia. Unlike hers, though, these looked like they belonged to a wolf or a dog. Some kind of half-beastkin of the wolf-kin variety, maybe?

I was about to dismiss it as nothing special when I noticed the atmosphere around me had gone strangely tense.

…What's with everyone?

Erinn, of course—but Letisia, Freya, Ser-Aria, and even Clara all had their expressions subtly hardening.

"…You lost them~?"

"I have no excuse."

"How…? Did you make some kind of mistake?"

Erinn reacted as if she genuinely couldn't comprehend it, and Letisia chimed in with the same bewildered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tone. Watching them only piled more questions onto me.

What the hell?

Their reactions made it sound like they were asking, How could someone like you possibly lose a target you were tracking?

Judging by the earlier conversation, he was apparently famous enough that everyone else knew him. The only problem was that I had no idea who he was. While I stood there looking lost, Clara quietly whispered beside me.

"…He's the finest Chaser on the entire frontline."

"…Huh?"

Hearing that, I checked his status window.

Stats and traits that more than lived up to the title of the frontline's greatest Chaser. His raw burst agility might fall short of Clara's, but the Clairvoyance trait gave him eyesight on par with Ser-Aria's—clear proof he was built for tracking.

But how could someone with those traits lose an entire legion's movements? Tracking a legion wasn't easy, sure—but once you'd locked on, shaking that pursuit off wasn't easy either.

That much was obvious. A legion wasn't one person; it was tens of thousands moving as a mass. Once a tracker latched on, peeling them off was a whole ordeal of its own.

Losing them should have been nearly impossible… and yet the frontline's finest tracker had done exactly that?

Something had to be going on. Under normal circumstances, this simply couldn't happen. And sure enough, Erinn seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"So what exactly happened~?"

"…Allow me to explain."

The Chaser, Leite, began.

"From the moment the Oblivion Legion's movements were first detected, I continuously tracked them. Up until that point, nothing unusual stood out about them."

He spoke as if carefully retracing his memories.

"Then, all of a sudden, a strange phenomenon occurred."

"A strange phenomenon?"

"…Would you believe me if I said the entire Oblivion Legion vanished in a single instant?"

His words left us even more baffled. An entire legion vanishing out of nowhere…

"You're saying the legion disappeared in an instant?"

At Freya's question, Leite nodded.

"It wasn't simply that they moved too quickly and left. There wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even a trace of the legion having moved. They hadn't cloaked themselves with invisibility magic, either—if they had, I would have read their presence. Across that entire wide plain where the legion had been camped, I felt absolutely nothing. Just as I said: they vanished in a single moment."

Had they used some kind of mass teleportation magic?

I wasn't the only one thinking it—Letisia spoke up.

"What about traces of teleportation magic?"

"None. No residual mana signatures remained."

If not that, then what? At this point it sounded like the legion had suddenly shot into the sky or sunk into the earth.

After listening to Leite's account, Erinn seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking.

"So that's why you said there was no operation, Grandpa~?"

"Without an enemy, there's no operation to plan. We have basic defensive measures, of course—but beyond that, nothing."

"Then how about we try this~."

"Do you have a good idea?"

At General Rosebach's question, Erinn smirked—and suddenly turned to look at me.

"Let's go check."

"Check? What more is there to check?"

Hearing the general's puzzled reply, Erinn walked over to me. Why was she coming my way?

"What are we checking, exactly~?"

She lightly took hold of my arm and said,

"We need to check what they actually did~."

"Your companion can figure that out?"

Me?

"I'm not certain, but there's a chance. His mana is a little special, you see."

"…Ah."

"Even a slim possibility is worth trying in a situation like this, right~?"

I finally caught on to what Erinn was aiming for. Even so, I wasn't sure it would help, so I asked,

"But you said there were no residual mana signatures."

"That happens sometimes~."

"Huh?"

With that, Erinn suddenly pressed herself right up against me. Startled, I flinched back a little—and she whispered so only I could hear.

"The mana of top-tier magical beasts sometimes leaves no residual traces at all~ You didn't know that, did you♡"

Top-tier magical beasts. In other words, the kind of powerful monsters that served as legion commanders. The fact that Erinn knew this while no one else seemed to… meant it was knowledge she'd gained in her previous lives.

That was why she'd told only me, quietly. Still, the sudden closeness had caught me off guard…

"…So that's why you want me to come check with you."

"Exactly~♡"

If they were still hiding themselves with mana, my own mana would provoke a reaction. If they'd already moved on, there was nothing we could do—but it was worth a shot.

I gave a small nod. Satisfied with my agreement, Erinn smiled and turned back.

"Leite."

"Yes."

"Where was the place the legion vanished~?"

Guided by the Chaser Leite, we crossed beyond the frontline until we reached a stretch of ground where the Fanatics' Covenant hung by a thread. Just in case, Karna's party stayed behind; only our group pressed on.

Even a slight turn of the head revealed magical beasts swarming beyond the Covenant. This was the true Demon Realm—an extremely dangerous place—but perhaps because we were following the path of the frontline's greatest Chaser…

Looks like the beasts haven't noticed us.

A genuine relief. I had zero confidence I could handle that seething mass of monsters.

Moving quietly in Leite's wake, we slipped past the beasts' eyes and arrived safely at the place where the Oblivion Legion had supposedly vanished.

"This is the spot."

At Leite's words, the party members poked their heads out one by one. Watching them peer out from the underbrush like baby birds waiting for their mother almost made me laugh.

After surveying the surroundings for a while, each of them offered their assessment.

"…There really is nothing here."

"Pwahaha, not a single trace left, huh?"

"At this rate, finding anything seems unlikely…"

Letisia, Ser-Aria, and Freya alike seemed to see nothing beyond what Leite had already observed. Even Clara—unquestionably the best among us at reading presence—could only tilt her head in confusion.

"I thought maybe I'd missed something after all… but it seems that was everything."

I turned to Erinn.

"What now? Want me to try using my mana?"

When I asked whether we should at least experiment with it, Erinn gave a small shake of her head.

"Wait."

She looked over at Caesius, who had been following along quietly the whole time.

"Hey, lizard~♡"

"…What is it?"

"Doesn't something feel off to you?"

At Erinn's question, Caesius glanced ahead and answered,

"No wonder no one could see it."

"Hm?"

"So there is something there after all~?"

"Yes."

Then say so, you damn lizard…

I was floored that she'd just been standing there in silence this whole time. Hearing her, Leite looked thoroughly confused and asked in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠genuine incomprehension,

"Forgive the interruption, but what exactly is supposed to be there? I can't read residual mana, active mana, or even presence. If something existed, those things should be detectable, shouldn't they?"

"Yes. They aren't detectable."

Caesius answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, only deepening the confusion of Leite and everyone else.

"Of course they aren't. How could something that doesn't exist be felt in the first place?"

She said that—and looked straight at me.

"Albrecht. Raise your mana."

"Huh?"

"And make sure you're ready to run."

…Run?

"The moment you raise your mana, they will react."

"You heard her~?"

"Eek!?"

Erinn smirked and casually scooped up Letisia—who was relatively slow on her feet—with one arm. Being lifted by Erinn, who was shorter than her, left Letisia looking thoroughly startled.

"Aria, you grab Freya. And lizard—you take care of Albrecht."

When Erinn told Caesius to handle me, Clara spoke up.

"I could do it…"

…No thanks. Being carried off in my girlfriend's arms wasn't high on my wishlist. Watching Letisia squirm in Erinn's grip only reinforced that.

…I'd rather get hauled around by a stupidly strong dragon.

I turned to Caesius.

"Caesius. Carry me."

"Understood."

With one hand, she effortlessly hoisted my bulk onto her back. Typical dragon. Even with my fairly large frame, she lifted me like it was nothing.

"So now I just release my mana?"

"Yes."

"Hurry up~."

I did as they said and raised my mana. Instantly, a bizarre reaction occurred. In a place that was clearly empty, my mana began devouring and sealing away some unidentified mana whose source I couldn't place.

"Where is this mana coming from…"

"Spatial distortion magic."

Only Caesius—a dragon, the race closest to magic itself—seemed to understand the phenomenon.

"The reason no one could sense any mana or presence is that they were inside a completely distorted space. They never moved, so of course no tracks remained—and because the magic was still active, no residual signatures were left behind either."

They'd been hiding…?

"Then if they just hide like that, there's no way to find them?"

"Normally, yes. But only we dragons can use this. Even the Demon King cannot."

"…What?"

That meant a dragon was in there. As far as I knew, no dragon belonged to the Oblivion Legion… Dragons were magical beasts, yes, but they weren't under the Demon King's dominion.

"It's a convenient spell in many ways, but it has a critical flaw—even the slightest interference causes it to collapse easily."

"Huh?"

Interference makes it collapse?

"Wait, then that means…"

"Yes."

Still carrying me, Caesius turned around as she spoke.

"That's why I told you to prepare to run."

Just as she said—because my mana had suppressed a portion of the mana composing the spell…

"Th-there really was something there…!?"

The spatial distortion magic crumbled, and the Oblivion Legion that had been hidden beneath the warped space began to slowly reveal itself.

Naturally, the legion—now aware their magic had been broken—immediately dispatched pursuit units. Seeing them, Erinn giggled and said,

"Eek, the filthy magical beasts are coming after us~♡"

"…How did this happen? Why did the magic collapse?"

Watching the spatial distortion magic crumble, the refined woman demanded in a frigid voice—directed at the one who had cast it.

Beside her, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a massive dragon bound in every kind of control shackle bowed its head and answered.

"…I momentarily lost control over a portion of my mana."

"Your mana?"

"Even I find it difficult to believe… but yes."

"……Hah."

Whoever was responsible, it was clearly the work of humans. But how had they discovered the existence of the spatial distortion magic—and how had they managed to suppress a dragon's mana?

"We were planning to strike while they let their guard down, thinking we'd vanished… but it seems that won't work."

Those questions stirred a keen interest in her. They had caught the beautiful woman's curiosity—and that, in truth, was not a good sign.

"While we're at it, I suppose I should find out what happened…"

She was none other than the head of the vast Oblivion Legion.

"I think I'll go play with them a little."

The Oblivion Legion Commander—Eris.