Toward the Second Tower (4)
Riding Yeonseo’s summoned beast, we entered the botanical garden at the National Assembly Building, pitched a tent to serve as our base of operations, and stepped back outside to face the tower rising at its heart.
The National Assembly Building had already been so thoroughly ruined by the tower that had erupted where the central fountain once stood that it was hard to believe the place had ever represented a nation’s government. Fortunately the tower had only been there for about three months, so the blight’s effects remained relatively mild—outer surfaces corroded, the earth cracked and desiccated as if by drought.
Once we cleared the tower, the land would recover. Given the size and facilities of the buildings here, the site could easily become a new settlement, or at least a waystation between existing ones.
What we had not expected was the sheer number of monsters.
Even on the approach, the broad roads surrounding the National Assembly Building had been carpeted with harpies—thousands of them, easily.
Pedro’s mouth fell open in pure astonishment.
“Whoa… there’s a ridiculous number of them. What do we do?”
Right in front of the tower, a massive cocoon of wings wrapped around the monster that had once been Han Jin-o. The harpies clustered around it had done the same, folding themselves into wing-cocoons and sinking into dormancy. Nests also crowned the roofs of the National Assembly Building itself and the flanking structures—the National Assembly Library and the main hall—each nest likewise filled with sleeping harpies.
“Pedro’s right… there really are a ton of them…”
Hyunseok’s voice was barely above a whisper as his gaze flicked between the central plaza and the rooftops.
“Even if I bring out my summons, this many might be a bit much…”
Yeonseo’s half-lidded eyes took in the overwhelming horde; her voice had gone limp with something close to helplessness.
What now… Even with the four of us fighting, this many might be too much—especially if we still have to clear the tower afterward…
If the buildings had been packed tight the way they were earlier, we might have picked them off one by one. Here the ground was wide open, a broad empty plaza that made individual engagements almost impossible. And the enemy were harpies—creatures that owned the sky as well as the ground.
“How are we supposed to find the one that cursed Uncle among this many?”
Pedro’s fists clenched so hard his knuckles whitened; the sheer numbers made him tremble with the fear that he might never save his uncle.
True enough—our most urgent goal, the one we had dressed up as “breaking the curse,” was to locate the creature that had poured the evil god’s power into Mr. Vincent so I could purify it. Spreading holy power would let me sense the one carrying that taint… but it would also alert the giant monster itself to our presence.
Time kept slipping past while we stood there fretting. Leave them alone much longer and the whole swarm would wake, and then things would get far uglier.
Well… none of us were master strategists. Even I, who had fought my share of large groups in another world, had never faced a battlefield this lopsided. While I was still turning the problem over, the harpies began to twitch and stir.
“Ugh, what do we do…!”
I raked both hands through my hair, thinking hard—then something flashed into place.
“Hyunseok! How big can you make that technique from earlier?”
He had been quiet until my sudden question; he blinked, rubbed his chin, then looked at me.
“At full size I could cover the entire central plaza around the tower. But why are you asking—wait. You…!?”
“We don’t have a choice. If we try to pick them off one by one and climb onto the roofs, we’ll be spotted for sure. They’re flyers—we lose on mobility. This is the only way.”
I spoke with absolute seriousness. Hyunseok tried to argue for another plan, but what else was there? The sooner we wiped them out, the sooner we could save Mr. Vincent.
“Haa… you really are reckless, aren’t you? Hyunseok, just give up and get ready.”
Yeonseo sighed, shook her head, and scolded him.
“But this is way too dangerous! Even if you can heal, this plan is completely over the line!”
Hyunseok protested in a fierce whisper, trying not to wake the monsters. Beside him Pedro still looked completely lost.
“Um… what are you talking about? Can someone explain?”
“I’m going to be the bait. After that, Hyunseok will push that technique of his to the absolute limit and wipe them all out in one go.”
Understanding dawned; Pedro’s eyes went wide. He grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me.
“W-wait a second! Th-this isn’t right! Even if it’s to save Uncle, a method like this…! Hyunseok hyung, stop her! Why are you just standing there…!”
“Pedro, quit shaking me and listen. We don’t have any other options right now. If we were stronger, or if all of us could use wide-area techniques, maybe. Against numbers like this, the only way is to gather them in one place.”
“B-but… this is…”
I gently pushed his hands away and kept going.
“Pedro, we have to save your uncle. It’s fine! This unnie may not look like much, but she’s pretty good at staying alive~”
I thumped my chest, told him not to worry, then left behind Hyunseok’s reluctant face, Yeonseo already preparing support, and Pedro’s tearful expression as I headed for the center.
Hyunseok needed time to ready a large technique, so he couldn’t play bait. Yeonseo was the only one free to help him prepare and provide defense. Pedro still looked all right, but his hands and legs were trembling—clearly exhausted from the earlier fight. Even if someone else volunteered to be bait, no one else could buy as much time as I could.
And once Hyunseok looses that technique, I’m the only one who has a way to block it.
Before I left I ordered the three of them to finish every preparation while I gathered the swarm. The signal would be the moment I drew Curtana and expanded its domain. By then the harpies would be focused entirely on me; they would assume the barrier was just for defense. I also decided to launch from the roof of the National Assembly Building—throwing from the highest point would catch even the ones still in the air. There was no time to move elsewhere, and the other tall buildings were too far for range anyway. Some harpies would remain on the roofs, of course, but Yeonseo and Pedro could handle those.
I drew Durandal and gripped it tight, then manifested twelve Flamberges at my back and strode toward the center of the tower plaza. Each step cracked the parched earth with a dry crunch; the sound of crumbling, fissured ground finally made the harpies open their eyes.
They were going to notice me soon enough, so I spread holy power outward, searching for the one that carried the evil god’s taint. The result was unexpected.
The only creature bearing that power was the giant monster that had once been Han Jin-o—him alone.
After Charlotte left, Yeonseo, Pedro, and I began to shift position carefully.
“Hey… is she really going to be okay?”
“Kid, instead of fretting about someone else, worry about how we’re going to move without getting spotted.”
Yeonseo snapped at the still-sniffling Pedro while she scanned the surroundings.
“Pedro, I’m worried about Charlotte too, but what’s done is done. We have to trust her and finish our preparations before the signal.”
“Nn… okay.”
He finally stopped sniffling, readied his ability, and fell in behind us. Seeing him pull himself together eased something in my chest. When we first came to rescue him I had snapped at him without meaning to; walking together like this now made that guilt a little lighter.
Why did I get so angry back then…? Looking back, there was no need to react that strongly.
The memory of my body moving before my mind could catch up brought with it the image of Charlotte being held by someone else, and a sudden discomfort twisted inside me. Why? Was it because of what Yeonseo had said—stop thinking of her as a little sister—and I had started seeing Charlotte simply as Charlotte?
Ever since then, the smile she gave when she thanked me had been devastatingly powerful. Before, when she smiled the same way, I had only felt relief or a quiet warmth—because I had been overlaying my sister’s face on hers. Once I stopped doing that, every time I recalled Charlotte’s smile my heart would race and heat would climb into my face.
Back then… looking at that smile was so hard I turned my head away, didn’t I…?
Thinking about it again, I had looked away because keeping my eyes on that smile made my chest ache and my heartbeat thrash. I still didn’t understand why I reacted that way now… but it didn’t feel bad.
I had been so lost in imagining Charlotte that I only then noticed Yeonseo watching me with a sly grin.
“Wh-what? Something you want to say?”
“Hmm~ Not really~ More importantly, we should go past the parking lot and around behind the National Assembly Building. Climbing will be quieter with Pedro’s technique than with mine.”
The teasing look vanished; she returned to her usual expression, spoke to Pedro, and took the lead.
“Got it. Should I make the ends hook-shaped?”
“No—that would make noise and give us away. Better to increase the viscosity at the tips.”
“I’ll give it a try!”
Watching the two of them plan, I thought again of Charlotte racing off alone. She had said she would be fine, but if my technique hurt her badly—or if she fell before I even fired—I would regret sending her alone for the rest of my life. The image made my chest prickle; I glanced back toward the direction she had gone.
Please… hold on until I get there.