Episode 87
We moved toward the Great Plains at full speed.
Running alone wasn't enough, but whenever Kaira and I got tired from running, Eri would summon wind spirits to carry us.
However, the distance was too far, and we decided to rest a bit during our journey, so we entered a small town.
I didn't even know its name, and since we only planned to stay one night, we headed straight to an inn.
"One room for three people and dinner for three, please."
"Yes~ Will you be staying just one night?"
"Just one night, please."
The innkeeper immediately headed to the kitchen.
"Let's eat and rest when dinner comes. We've been running all day without rest, it's too exhausting."
"Yeah... Will we even make it to the Great Plains like this? I feel like I'll collapse before we get there."
"...We have to get there somehow."
As all three of us were half-melted into our chairs taking a rest, we heard a boisterous noise.
From across the room, mercenaries were drunkenly shouting.
"Keeu... Anyway, did you hear about that? Down there somewhere? Anyway, you know. That ambiguously large city. I heard it's in danger soon too?"
"What nonsense is that now. The Hero's party went to defeat the Demon King, there's no way it could be dangerous."
"You heard another weird rumor, didn't you? Stop talking nonsense and just drink."
At his companions' dismissive responses, the mercenary slammed the table and stood up.
Crash!
A chair fell over with a loud noise.
"Agh! I'm telling you it's true. If you don't believe me, want to make a bet? After this is over, we can all go to that city down there. If I'm wrong, I'll get you each a weapon."
"If you're that confident, what's there to say. I'll believe you, so just sit down quietly and drink."
"Yeah, if it really bothers you, let's go tomorrow. For today, let's just drink first."
Unlike the two who tried to brush it off, the mercenary who started the story didn't seem willing to let it go.
"I'm telling you what I heard?! They said beastkin are suddenly pushing up from the Great Plains. And there's some strange beastkin nobody's seen before leading them."
"There's a beastkin nobody's seen before? What kind of beastkin?"
"I heard they use magic. They said they shoot blue fire in all directions?"
Blue fire.
At those words, we looked at each other.
Without speaking, we realized what each other was thinking.
"Let's have Eri go ask them. She's the most sisterly among us. Kaira and I don't have such... violent communication methods."
Kaira nodded.
"Right, with two hypnosis pouches on your chest, use them properly for once. Stop trying them on Aron who's immune to hypnosis anyway."
For the first time in a while, Kaira and I were on the same wavelength as we lightly bumped fists and smiled.
Eri glanced at us and let out a deep sigh.
Even if she didn't like it, she had no rebuttal.
"Fine. I'll go check."
As she stood up, her hypnosis pouches swayed.
Kaira and I whistled like street thugs and giggled.
"I really don't want to go..."
As Eri disappeared while grumbling, the food arrived just in time.
I casually asked the innkeeper who skillfully brought our food.
"By any chance, have you heard stories about beastkin attacking? Those mercenaries over there were talking about it earlier."
The innkeeper answered while placing food on the table.
"The rumors started quite a while ago. About a week maybe? There's been talk that beastkin are rushing out from the Great Plains in groups to attack humans."
"Any proper news about how far they've come? Anything like that?"
"The last proper news from reliable sources came two days ago. Back then they said it wasn't a major threat, but I don't know how it is now."
The inn staff finished setting the food and quietly disappeared.
And right on time, Eri returned.
"I went and asked, and it doesn't seem to be a lie. Even the description matches exactly?"
"Then instead of going to the Great Plains, we need to go find those beastkin. Is it close from here?"
"If we run, it shouldn't take long. About half a day?"
I cut a sausage, put it in my mouth, and chewed while thinking.
'Do I have to run half a day and fight beastkin? That would actually be easier than going all the way to the Great Plains.'
With the elf, a proper fight hadn't been possible.
They played to their strengths while neutralizing mine, so there was no choice.
But with beastkin, that shouldn't be an issue.
Because their strengths and my strengths are similar.
"Then let's get up tomorrow and move right away. For now... I don't think we'd be able to fight even if we went."
"Right, let's finish eating and go up to rest."
We started putting small bites of food in our mouths and chewing again.
At this point, questions inevitably arise.
'Why is Seoryeong unni attacking humans? There shouldn't be any reason for that. Aron wouldn't want that either.'
After all, she's one of the First Hero's party members.
In terms of pure strength, she's at a level that wouldn't fall behind anywhere, so controlling her by force would be...
After a moment of contemplation, I realized.
It's possible.
They could easily manipulate her as they please.
'What was that ability? In the game, she controlled Rex to half-destroy the knight order, and the protagonist barely managed to restore his sanity.'
It's been too long to remember clearly, but what's certain is that it's possible.
If you chose the wrong options, you could even lose the heroine.
Back then, the protagonist killed her directly to solve the problem.
That caused quite an uproar among users.
"Kaira. If it's magic related to mental control or an Outer God's power, can you resolve it completely? Or do you need a special item?"
"Suddenly? Well... I can resolve Outer God's powers too. It might take some time though."
"How much time do you need?"
Kaira thought for a moment before answering.
"Based on experience, a normal person would take one session. For something really strong, you should comfortably budget half a day for the target."
"Then get ready. From what I can tell, Seoryeong unni is definitely being controlled."
"How do you know that? Did Aron tell you that... authority? Prophecy? Something like that?"
"Something similar."
To be precise, I only know because I'm possessing this body.
"If I'm right, the Beast King has subdued her directly, and the Cult of the End is controlling Seoryeong unni. In the best case, it's control, but in the worst case..."
There are two worst-case scenarios.
Either her brain is broken by the Outer God's power, or they killed her and are just using her corpse.
"I'll tell you after we get there and see. So you think about how to resolve that."
Perhaps because she'd already heard a lot from Aron, Kaira nodded without any particular questions.
Eri, who had finished eating quietly, spoke up.
"But how are we going to stop it? From what I heard, the beastkin are apparently swarming in like waves."
"First, we have to hold out in the city."
"That would be my job then. So who's going to stop the fox? It's impossible to defend the walls while blocking all the fire attacks she's throwing."
After thinking for a moment, I answered.
"Then I'll distract Seoryeong unni. You defend the walls during that time."
At my answer, Eri frowned.
"So you're saying you'll stop that fox alone? Absolutely not. You can't stop her alone."
Kaira nodded in agreement.
"That fox might not seem like it normally, but she's a real monster. In terms of pure combat power, she's much stronger than me or the elf. She's good at close combat because she's beastkin, and for some reason she's also good at long-range attacks with that blue fire, so you can't stop her alone."
"I have to stop her somehow. We can't just abandon Seoryeong unni either."
"...That's true too."
My strengths and weaknesses are both clear.
My strength is my tough body, and my weakness is that I only have a tough body.
So I should be good at enduring, right?
"Then let's rest well and think about it tomorrow. Who knows, we might get lucky and Seoryeong unni might be in her right mind."
At those words, Kaira tilted her head.
"Wouldn't it be more problematic if she's doing that in her right mind?"
...She's right.
*
The next morning.
As soon as we woke up, we prepared to quickly move after just eating breakfast.
Preparing for potential combat, we started running again.
"I wonder if the city has already fallen? Or is it still okay."
"We'll only know when we get there. But judging by how quiet the villages are that normal people could reach in a week, it's probably okay."
"Yeah, if they had already lost, people would have fled."
The fact that news hadn't properly reached relatively nearby villages was also proof that the city was still safe.
No matter how strong the beastkin are, it should be impossible for those naked creatures to capture a city that quickly.
It should be impossible, right?
'Though if Seoryeong unni throws fire like crazy, it might be possible.'
The fire I saw in the forest was enough to blow away an area if it exploded.
It might not be enough to destroy an entire city, but it's more than enough to break through walls.
After running for quite a while, the city walls finally came into view.
"Looks like all hell has already broken loose?"
There was a reason we'd encountered several fleeing people on our way.
The beastkin were truly swarming toward the city like endless waves.
Among them, familiar blue flames were also visible.
"She looks pretty healthy from what I can see. Throwing fire around like that."
"Right. Maybe we should just not save her?"
It was a joke, but watching the sheer power made me not want to get close.
Even from this distance, the explosion sounds were clearly audible.
Boom! Kaboom!
The mages in the city and defensive artifacts seemed to be holding out for now.
But judging by the power, they wouldn't last long.
"I'll go ahead to help. Follow quickly."
Eri flew ahead first on a spirit.
She seemed to plan to get there first to prevent the walls from collapsing, which would be disastrous.
"I'll go ahead too. You go straight into the city."
"Okay, be careful then."
Leaving behind Kaira's awkward concern, I pushed off the ground and ran at full speed.
Beastkin physique, aura, plus spirits.
Screech!
I reached a speed that was slightly below what I'd felt from Aron before.
Crack!
I pushed off the ground hard, leaped high, and landed in the center of the beastkin.
Thud!
The ground shattered and shook, with thick dust rising to obscure vision.
When I swung my arm strongly, the dust disappeared with the wind.
"..."
"What's this? It's been a while, but you're being cold?"
"Enemies... must be... killed..."
Whoosh!
Instead of an answer, blue flames began to burn behind Seoryeong unni.
It seems we're not in a state for conversation.