The Twelve Hour Church Joins
Viscount Hadion wasted no time spreading the news through every rank of his forces.
“Behold—!”
From high upon the battlements he cried out.
“With the very fate of Hadion hanging in the balance—! The priests of the Twelve Hour Church have arrived! This is proof that the Goddess of Rivers and Flowers watches over us!”
The Viscount thrust his sword skyward.
“Under the Goddess’s protection, we fight! We fight, and we win—!”
“Waaaaaah—!”
“Thanks be to the Goddess!”
“Rivers and Flowers!”
“Rivers and Flowers!”
The effect was immediate and overwhelming. Moments earlier the soldiers had steeled themselves for death; now hope kindled in their eyes.
Bishop Philros lent his strength as well.
“O Lord, in the name of Your servant Bishop Philros, I beseech You—grant these people Your blessing……!”
A wave of radiant light rolled outward. A gentle surge of vitality followed in its wake.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
“Philros!”
“Philros!”
The walls became a cauldron of pure frenzy—and little wonder.
Demons are pouring in…… and the priests of the Twelve Hour Church just happen to show up?!
And not ordinary priests, either.
A bishop.
This is insane!
Meanwhile the Viscount turned to me with a request.
“Could you escort these gentlemen to Priest James? It ought to be my duty, but…… I must ask this of you.”
“Leave it to me.”
I led Bishop Philros and his priests straight to Brother James.
“I am Khtun of Palaon.”
“Bishop Philros. To meet Brother Khtun at last.”
What?
“You know me?”
“Yes—Brother James spoke of you. Are you not the brave soul who stood against the Mouth of Targis? I also heard you rendered great service during the southern affair of ‘Kankus’s Pride.’”
Kankus’s Pride—meaning the Egg of Pixer. He was referring to the time I persuaded Grand Duke Merlin and released that information free of charge (more or less).
“I merely did what needed doing.”
“Haha. Humble exactly as I was told.”
“Haha.”
Somehow the exchange left me feeling good. Above all, Bishop Philros’s open, sunny face put me at ease.
Maybe we won’t even need the click this time?
[I see. Well, he is a bishop, after all.]
No matter how high and mighty a demon giant might fly, could it possibly stand against our Bishop Philros?
Lord, forgive Your servant for thinking of them as auxiliary batteries.
A solid, reassuring warmth settled in my chest.
……It lasted less than five minutes.
“Brother James!”
“Your Excellency!”
The tearful reunion of Brother James and Bishop Philros unfolded before me.
“How did you come to be here?”
“There are demons about; how could I simply pass by? In any case, it seems I shall share this final battle with you.”
Final battle?
“Bishop, does that mean you plan to retire once this fight is over?”
Philros tilted his head, then laughed.
“Haha—one could see it that way. Yes. My companions and I intend to offer our lives in this battle.”
What?
After that bombshell I stood frozen for a long moment.
Did I hear that right?
[You did.]
What the……
The bishop was not merely prepared for death.
He treated it as a foregone conclusion, and the other priests showed not the slightest disagreement.
In other words—
“So…… you’ve come here to die?”
“That is correct.”
“Why?”
Had they caught some terminal illness and come looking for a place to end it?
……No.
“On the road we met a column of refugees. We also heard how Viscount Hadion means to make a noble sacrifice for their sake.”
“Um, so then……”
“If by offering this one life I can save the lambs, what is there to regret?”
“Huh.”
So that was it. They were willingly walking into death for the people still evacuating. As living proof, Bishop Philros burned with the resolve to drag at least one more demon down with him until the very last breath.
Is this normal?
Is it?
How can a man look so cheerful about it?
“Haha, yet it is a true pity. Brother Khtun is not one who should meet his end in a place like this.”
In that instant I understood.
They really are auxiliary batteries!
As the rightful heir of K-Confucianism I hereby strip them of their right to self-determination.
“B-Bishop Philros—if I have a method…… will you hear it? I refuse any refusal.”
Surely the Goddess of Rivers and Flowers would wish for this as well.
While Khtun was busy wrapping the priests of the Twelve Hour Church around his finger with words, silhouettes began to shimmer beyond the horizon.
“Hey…… Senior?”
“What is it.”
“Doesn’t it look like there’s something out there?”
“What do you mean something……”
The senior soldier never finished the sentence. He had seen it too.
Beyond the horizon, a single head wavered into view.
It was enormous. Even hanging on the edge of the world, every feature stood out with terrible clarity.
Ding—! Ding-ding—!
Alarm bells pealed almost at once.
“Everyone to your posts!”
“Move—hurry!”
Knights and adjutants drove the men into motion; soldiers snapped into their assigned places and locked ranks. The discipline was flawless—until it shattered.
“What in the world……”
“A-a giant!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The earth itself began to boom. A being that truly deserved the phrase “as big as a house” was closing the distance one colossal stride at a time.
Dark-crimson skin, fangs jutting above and below. Two pairs of eyes. And behind it—an endless wave of demons.
The fighting spirit that had blazed only moments earlier snuffed out in every soldier’s chest. Anyone would have felt the same. How could they not? No one could picture this modest wall stopping that mountain of a giant and the tide of monsters surging in its wake.
This is impossible.
We’re going to die.
……Just as despair flooded every mind—
“Pull yourselves together—!”
Thud!
The Viscount slammed a mana-charged foot against the stone.
“Open your eyes and look! Does that look like your death?! Then you are wrong! That is not your death! It is the enemy that will tear apart your parents! Your brothers and sisters! Your children—!”
Thud!
He stomped again.
“And still you are afraid! Are you afraid, I ask you!”
Focus snapped back into the soldiers’ eyes. They had come to their senses.
“Remember! If you break here, those things will race straight on and devour your families! Will you still tremble in fear? Will you tremble and hand over your own flesh and blood—!”
“No!”
“No!”
“What you must fear is not death—! Fear the dishonor of failing to protect your family—!”
“All hands, prepare for battle!”
“Prepare for battle!”
The knights roared encouragement. Were they going to sit still and feed their families to the demons?
Soldiers clenched spears and swords, nocked arrows, and piled the stones already stacked along the wall at their feet. All the while the giant drew nearer.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
How close had it come?
Sssss, whooooosh—!
When the giant’s ragged breathing became clearly audible, the soldiers gritted their teeth until their jaws ached. They felt they would go mad. At any second that massive club in its fist would smash the walls to rubble.
Yet no one fled. As the Viscount had said, if they gave ground now, the families still streaming down the evacuation roads would never survive.
Then the giant drew a deep, deliberate breath.
Sssssssssss—!
Its chest swelled monstrously. The mouth opened.
“Huuuuumaaaans—! You insignificant things, face your deeeeeath—!”
“Kugh!”
“Gah!”
Every soldier clapped hands over their ears. The voice threatened to burst eardrums; thought itself scattered.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The giant charged the instant the roar ended.
Kieeeeek!
Kaaaak!
The demon horde poured after it like a living flood, and the defenders of Hadion thrashed in terror—yet their will to fight still held.
In the midst of that chaos—
[Here! This spot will do nicely!]
Yes!
Atop a modest watchtower on the wall, an unremarkable skeleton, a necromancer, and the priests of the Twelve Hour Church waited for their moment.
Atop the watchtower.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The giant advanced. Behind it the demon tide rolled on without end.
Is that for real?
I swallowed hard. The demon giant and its army were pure, unfiltered nightmare. I had vaguely imagined “really big” and “really many.” Reality laughed at those words.
Especially the giant.
How tall was it……?
They said the walls were about ten meters, right?
The giant easily cleared that. Fifteen meters, maybe? In modern terms, a four-story building. Looking at a building that height feels ordinary; staring at a living creature of the same size made my jaw drop of its own accord.
Even with a “click,” could I cut something like that?
Does it actually work?
[Believe. The giant I once slew was larger still.]
Right. Believe. If this descendant refuses to trust the Ancestor, who else is left?
I steadied my heart and waited.
“O Lord—! Shield us with Your holy ground!”
“Courage to the little lambs!”
As the giant closed another stride, Bishop Philros and Brother James below began laying holy magic across the ranks. The four priests who had accompanied the bishop—our designated auxiliary batteries—stood ready.
“It is truly an honor.”
“To lend our strength to the destruction of so mighty a demon……”
They were excited, not frightened—exactly the sort of mad demon-hunters the Twelve Hour Church produced. Reassuring, in a terrifying way.
Not long after, the Ancestor spoke.
[Let us prepare.]
Yes.
“Brothers, I entrust this to you.”
“Leave it to us.”
The Ancestor settled into stance.
Woom, woooooom—!
Mana flooded from my heart straight into him. The instant that reservoir thinned, I dragged power from the Vessel.
Five steps until the giant reached the wall.
Thud!
One step closer—half the Vessel’s mana gone. Absorption never paused.
Thud!
Three steps remaining—the Vessel ran dry. The auxiliary batteries stepped forward. Their holy power poured through the Vessel into my heart, then surged onward to the Ancestor.
That was when the skeleton’s frame began to creak.
Crack, creak!
Crazy—was the durability failing?!
[Do not panic.]
The Ancestor calmly tightened his grip on the sword and focused.
Two steps left.
The giant, now almost upon them, hoisted its colossal club high.
“Diiiiie—!”
A single blow that would pulverize the wall like dry clay. Anyone struck by that club would leave nothing behind but a red smear.
Yet the soldiers did not flinch.
“Do not fall back!”
“Take at least one more with you!”
As if the giant did not exist, they hurled stones and poured boiling oil onto the lesser demons already clawing at the base of the wall.
And then—
Whoooooosh—!
The club came crashing down. Every defender felt death’s breath on their necks.
In that exact instant—
“Valhallaaaaaa—!”
BOOOOOOM—!
A blinding sword-stroke erupted from the watchtower—the same stroke that, ages ago, had severed Gargus of the Giant King’s bloodline.