Oblivion Legion (2)

Oblivion Legion Commander Eris.

I never expected her to come looking for us first. I wasn't the only one who felt that way — Erinn looked a little dumbfounded herself.

It was hard to see coming, honestly. No matter how skilled you were, a commander revealing herself on the battlefield first was the worst possible strategy. Someone leading an entire legion couldn't possibly not know that. Which meant her showing up like this was one of two things.

Either she had some scheme in mind — or she simply never considered the possibility that she might be in danger.

"Two Heroes… I can roughly see what you were thinking. You figured you could intercept me alone, didn't you?"

Looking at the ease radiating off her, I couldn't completely rule out the former…

…But the latter seems a lot more likely.

She would have known the Heroes were here, of course. Showing up anyway was strange no matter which reason you picked. Still, thinking back on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Oblivion Legion Commander's personality as shown in Dungeon in Evil, the latter really did seem more probable.

Maybe it was because she could inflict that fatal Curse of Oblivion on people, but she was a commander who firmly believed humans were no match for her. The curse was one thing, but she was also immensely strong in her own right, as befitting a legion commander. In the original story, that very overconfidence became her downfall — she got taken down by a joint assault from the player party's Hero and an NPC Hero. The classic "dies from underestimating her enemies" villain role.

It seemed like that was playing out here too. But I wasn't certain.

Plenty of things I know have already changed…

There could be some other reason. I stayed razor-focused, watching only for whether she would activate her curse.

"But will just two of you be enough?"

Eris said lightly, smiling.

"Looks to me like you'd need three or more to take me down."

Eris had a thoroughly arrogant personality. She loved provocation, the type who enjoyed getting her opponents emotionally worked up so she could toy with them. She had the power to back it up, and her Curse of Oblivion was practically tailor-made for that kind of game.

How hilarious must it be, watching someone who charged in to kill you babble and flail after losing nearly all their memories? She genuinely enjoyed that sort of thing.

"Don't make me laugh~ An old lady putting on airs? ♡"

"…What?"

But when it came to arrogance, there was someone on our side who refused to lose to anyone.

"Three? Two is already overkill~ ♡"

Naturally, it was Erinn. If anything, she was even more insolent than Eris — the kind of person who never, ever lost a staring contest of pure attitude.

Calling a monster "old lady"…

What a peculiar idea. Though for a long-lived monster, it wasn't exactly wrong… no, wait, by that logic wouldn't it be "grandma"…?

"Perfect timing, actually~ I was looking for you anyway."

Erinn gripped the Holy Sword in both hands. At her words, the party members who had already been preparing for combat readied themselves as well.

Seeing that, I gave Caesius the order I'd prepared in advance. Without a standing command, she couldn't fight on her own.

"Caesius, fight autonomously under your own judgment."

"Understood."

Apparently noticing us preparing for battle, Eris let out a hollow laugh of disbelief.

"How arrogant. Humans start treating Heroes like special beings and you all lose your minds, is that it?"

Eris spoke with a look of pure contempt.

"I'll make you regret this."

Rage Python's massive body began to move. Commander Rosebach shouted immediately.

"Yula! Raise a barrier at once! If that monster runs wild here, the defensive line could collapse!"

"Understood."

"Hold on~."

Erinn said with a mischievous little smile.

"I'll knock her back a bit first~ ♡"

With those words, mana gathered into Erinn's Holy Sword. Seeing that, Oblivion Legion Commander Eris drew out her own mana as well.

"Quite the spirit, aren't you? Well, of course — a Hero wouldn't fall under my curse. But…"

Eris smirked, as if to say that was as far as our thinking went.

"Your other companions won't be so lucky, will they?"

Eris's mana finished first. Something began to rise above her gathered hands. And sure enough, an ominous message appeared.

The moment I saw that foreboding message, I urgently raised my mana.

And just before the Curse of Oblivion could complete, my mana interfered first. With a crackling snap, Eris's nearly finished curse failed to activate at all — her mana scattered and fell apart.

As expected, my mana hit its limit just from suppressing a portion of Eris's power. It had reacted to Erinn's mana at first, but the moment it swallowed Eris's, it stopped responding as if it had no more room to spare.

"…What kind of trick was that?"

Eris asked, thoroughly baffled. Naturally, there was no one here who planned to tell her. And right away, Erinn wore a satisfied expression and smiled thinly.

"Who knows~ ♡"

Erinn's Holy Sword shone brilliantly. Her mana aligned with exquisite precision, and a single technique took shape.

CRAAAAAASH!!!

The instant the technique completed, Erinn's Holy Sword slammed into Rage Python… and though the beast showed the durability to withstand a single blow from the Holy Sword, the result of being overpowered in raw force didn't change.

Struck in that direction by Erinn, Rage Python's body was driven massively backward, shoved clean off the high ground and tumbling down the slope.

"Barrier, now~ ♡"

"Understood."

Erinn seemed to decide that position was good enough and called for Yula's barrier. But the spot where Rage Python had been momentarily driven back was already filling up again with the monsters that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had earlier been swept aside by Karna's Holy Spear.

"I'll purify them once."

Seeing that, Freya spoke up and neatly folded both hands over her chest.

"Father of all life, your faithful servant entreats you… with your holy power, wash away evil and save the living."

RUUUUMBLE!!!

Freya's divine power surged up, locking onto the coordinates where Rage Python had been driven. Monsters engulfed in the sacred radiance were swept away equally — lower-tier and higher-tier alike, no distinctions made.

I was thinking that would affect Rage Python too when Caesius grabbed me.

"Let's go."

"Ah."

Just as she said — the moment Freya's prayer completed, Erinn and the party were already surging toward where Rage Python and Eris were.

"Right."

If only Eris and our group ended up inside the barrier, the plan would roughly hold. This was a chance to take down a commander who'd arrogantly come without even bringing her officers.

As we started charging out, Commander Rosebach shouted at once.

"Yula, the barrier! Karna, Sharti! As we discussed — focus on holding the defensive line!"

"…Understood."

"Ready!"

Yula's barrier magic completed in an instant. And a skill message appeared before my eyes.

……Wait.

"Sealing Barrier…?"

Something about that phrasing felt wrong. I whipped around. And I looked at Yula's face. It was still a face I'd never seen before… and on the expression of the woman casting the barrier, a thin, unpleasant smile was hanging.

…

The moment I imagined the worst, Caesius — who had been carrying me forward — abruptly stopped and asked.

"…Albrecht, what did you just say? Sealing Barrier?"

Caesius spoke.

"That is a barrier used to imprison humans, though…?"

"……What?"

And in that instant, the barrier completed.

Unlike us, who had stopped midway, Erinn and Freya, Ser-Aria and Clara had already closed to a distance not far from Rage Python. And of course, they were inside the barrier's casting range.

Only they had gone into the barrier. And if that was a barrier used to imprison humans……

I urgently raised my mana, trying to collapse Yula's barrier… but a barrier already completed wouldn't break. Seeing that fail, I spun around and shouted.

"Traitor!!"

"…What?"

Along with Commander Rosebach's startled expression…

"Heh. You noticed too late."

Yula smiled thinly and formed a sharp dagger of mana. Then she drove it straight into the commander's chest.

There was a reason I'd never heard of this character. She simply didn't exist as an ally in the game. So she wasn't a playable character either — she was someone I had no way of knowing.

Then what about Reite…?

The possibility… was high enough. He was also a character I didn't know, and there was the suspicious circumstance of the scouting party's total annihilation. Normally, the scouting party would use the same routes Reite used. Why wouldn't a scouting party take a path known to be safe?

And yet the scouting party had been wiped out. That meant someone had known where the scouts were moving.

Considering that the monsters hadn't even reacted when we used Reite's path, it was entirely possible they'd known all along and simply pretended not to.

And even now…

He still hasn't shown himself.

The man who'd gone to locate the legion commander still hadn't appeared — even after the legion commander herself had shown up. Of course I couldn't be certain, but…

…The odds look pretty high…

A hollow laugh escaped on its own.

As for the idea that monsters had been disguised as humans — the status window had clearly labeled them under Character Information, so the chance that Reite and Yula were monsters was low. It was just… betrayal.

"A… traitor, you say…"

Commander Rosebach, stabbed through the chest, coughed up blood.

"Why… a hero……"

"Don't elevate me with the word 'hero.' Do you truly believe we can defeat them? How long are you going to keep lying about the truth, clinging to the empty hope of Heroes?"

Yula spoke as if mocking everyone still fighting.

"We can't beat them. The day the Covenant of the Mad God Lahn weakens and ends, we'll all be slaughtered——"

Thud! Whoosh!!

But Yula never finished the sentence. Karna's spear, returned from somewhere, punched through her throat — then swept sideways and took her head clean off.

"……."

It was a sight that made my eyes go wide. Watching one person behead another with their own hands was… shocking in more ways than one. If I hadn't already grown somewhat used to blood through several battles, I might have thrown up right there.

"…Situation."

"It seems Hero Erinn's party has been trapped."

Karna and Sharti exchanged words with calm detachment, then looked at Commander Rosebach, who was bleeding from the chest and turning pale. There didn't seem to be any way to save him. If Freya had been here, maybe — but she was sealed inside the barrier too.

"…This is bad."

He assessed it that simply, gripped his spear, and turned. Seeing that, I asked on pure instinct.

"…Where are you going, Hero Karna?"

"To do my duty. The legion commander is sealed in with Erinn, so her officers will come pouring in soon enough."

"Then we need to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠find a way to break that barrier first! What if they're helplessly hit by the curse…!"

"It would be dangerous. But this is the correct call."

Karna said.

"A legion's officers are as dangerous as the commander herself. Fail to deal with them properly and the front line collapses in an instant. Even if you take the commander, it means nothing if the line falls."

"……."

"In the original offensive plan, we intended to leave that to the heroes, but…"

Karna looked at Commander Rosebach, whose breathing had already stopped.

"No more heroes arrived for this earlier-than-planned battle, and now… we can no longer trust them."

I couldn't argue with Karna's words. And yet a purely personal desire still screamed inside me.

Even so — I had to save Erinn and the others… I had to save Clara.

"…Even so, if they fall under the curse, that's a problem in its own right."

"There are ways to break the curse that don't require your power. They're simply dangerous, that's all."

"Isn't that danger far too great!?"

I knew rationally that Karna's judgment was correct, and still I acted on emotion. I couldn't help it. It wasn't just anyone — Clara had gone in there.

"…Think rationally, Albrecht."

Karna even used my name, telling me to calm down — but I couldn't manage it easily.

I was anxious, so anxious. What if Clara forgot me? And the thought of the other companions forgetting everything, including me… was unbearable just to imagine. Once they'd forgotten everything, there would be no reason left for them to stay together.

"Is this a situation where anyone can think rationally!? If it were Sharti trapped in there, you would—!!"

"…."

In the end, the anxiety exploded. I knew I was being emotional, and still I couldn't settle down.

"…It's all right, Albrecht. So please, calm down."

"……?"

But then, of all things, Letisia's voice came from beside me. I turned and she was truly standing there, having approached.

"Huh…?"

I was so startled I forgot my agitation and just stared at her blankly.

…Come to think of it, only Letisia hadn't been near Rage Python back then. Why hadn't she been there? I was wondering when she spoke.

"I was a little slower than the others…"

I'd seen Ser-Aria carrying Freya earlier, so Letisia must have been running on her own. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠She gave an awkward little smile, looking faintly embarrassed, then continued.

"Anyway, please calm down a bit. You're being terribly emotional — it's not like you. Of course… I understand. But you know as well as anyone, Albrecht, that acting on emotion can leave even solvable problems unsolved."

Letisia said that, then turned to Karna.

"Could you hold the front line while we resolve this problem, Hero Karna?"

"…No issue."

Karna raised the Holy Spear.

"Solve the barrier problem in the meantime, spirit mage."

"Yes. Please take care of it."

"Fortune favor you."

Karna left with Sharti, and only Letisia, Caesius, and I remained. The army whose commander had just died didn't look as chaotic as I'd expected. Or rather — it would have been chaotic originally, but the subordinate officers were keeping their cool.

You could tell how thoroughly they'd been trained for situations like this. Seeing that, some of my own agitation settled.

…Right. Acting on emotion solves nothing. In moments like this, you had to think rationally for any chance to open up.

I steadied myself a little and looked at Letisia.

"What do we do? You said it was all right — that means there's a way."

"…I'm not a mage myself, so interpreting a barrier structure of this scale would be difficult. But we have someone who can fill the role of a mage, don't we?"

Letisia said that and looked at Caesius beside me. Then she spoke.

"Caesius, would you analyze the barrier's structure for us?"

"That is possible, but dismantling it is not. I hate to say this of that traitor, but the construction of the barrier is of a remarkable level."

She had been called the Barrier Mage, after all — it stood to reason. If even a dragon like Caesius was saying that, her skill must have been considerable.

Why someone like that would give up on fighting back was another question.

"That's fine. We only need to know the focal points that compose the barrier."

"What are you planning to do?"

"What do you think?"

Letisia smiled faintly.

"Have you forgotten whose contractor I am?"