Chapter 64: Behemoth (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 64: Behemoth (6)
Days of fighting monsters that swarmed like ants. Comrades from long ago died, and newly made friends died as well.
Even as mountains of corpses piled up, the soldiers did not break.
For they had a trustworthy general.
A single speech from their general was enough to make even soldiers who had lost their reason sharpen their blades with blazing eyes.
And that great general was an old friend of Cloud's.
Cloud had once asked his friend how he could raise the soldiers' morale so high with just one speech.
His friend had replied that it wasn't difficult.
"Proud children of Roberton!"
Cloud's voice, carried by mana, echoed throughout the entire city. The citizens looked around in confusion. The monsters' attention turned toward him.
Keeheehee!
Two harpies lunged at Cloud, their talons extended.
Slice—
His sword traced a silver arc, bisecting the first harpy vertically as it flew toward him. The other, startled, tried to flee, but it was too late.
Cloud grabbed the harpy's leg and flung it to the ground. He stomped on it to hold it down, then slit its throat.
He shouted again.
"Roberton has been invaded by monsters! The innocent are bleeding and dying, and the city guards stationed here cannot hold them back alone!"
The citizens, who hadn't grasped the situation, fell into despair.
A mother and daughter hiding in a jar inside their home trembled and wept.
Citizens who had been fleeing aimlessly from the monsters lost hope, and the guards' grips on their spears and swords slackened.
"But do not fear! For I, the Hero Cloud, and my valiant soldiers have returned to Roberton!"
The Hero had returned.
The soldiers had returned.
To the citizens who had fallen into a pit of despair, a lifeline named hope was lowered.
But no one dared to grab it. They lacked the will to pull themselves out of the pit.
"Proud children of Roberton! What is this place? Is it not Roberton, a land of milk and honey, the most prosperous land in the Prona Kingdom? Those golden fields are proof of your farmers' blood and sweat! These sturdy walls and this beautiful city are the legacy of your ancestors! You have the right to live. The right to live in this city! Will you let mere beasts snatch that right away from you?!"
The right.
The citizens flinched at that word.
That's right.
This city was built by them. By their ancestors. They had the right to live here in peace.
"Those who can fight, fight! Show these insolent beasts the power of your right! Those who cannot fight, flee! Survive, no matter what, and protect that right!"
His friend had said it wasn't difficult to raise people's morale.
You tell them the reality of their situation, plunging their spirits to the very bottom, then you offer them hope to pull them back up. You paint over that hope with pride and self-respect.
And then, you tell them what they must do to protect that pride and self-respect.
The mana carrying Cloud's voice vibrated.
His voice, with a resonance perfectly suited to stir human emotion, moved the hearts of all who heard it.
The citizens grabbed the lifeline.
A fleeing man picked up a jar and hurled it at the beast chasing him. While the creature was stunned, he escaped into an alley.
The mother and daughter hiding in the jar stopped crying. With venomous determination, they clamped their mouths shut and held each other tight, vowing to survive no matter what.
—Those who can fight, fight! Show these insolent beasts the power of your right!
The voice entered their ears, yet strangely, it resonated in their chests.
Hans, a city guard, opened his eyes.
The wolf's jaws were right in front of his face. It was too late to dodge. He had to make a choice, and he gave it his left arm instead of his neck.
Sharp teeth dug into his flesh.
"Kuaaaargh!"
The pain was enough to make him scream, but Hans's eyes flew wide open. He gripped his sword in a reverse hold and plunged it into the wolf's neck.
The wolf didn't die.
It was an enormous wolf.
What he thought was the neck might not have been.
Just as the wounded wolf, enraged, began to thrash its head to tear off Hans's arm...
Thunk!
Thunk!
A spear and a sword stabbed into the wolf's side.
His fellow guards had seen his plight and rushed over. They screamed with rage.
"TWIST ITTTTT!!!!"
"UAAAAAARGH!!!"
"FUCKING HELL!!!"
The blades twisted, tearing through the wolf's flesh and organs. The wolf released Hans's arm and howled in agony. The guards pulled their weapons out. And stabbed again.
Pulled them out.
And stabbed again.
This simple act was repeated until the massive wolf collapsed, lifeless.
They stared down at the fallen wolf for a moment before moving again.
There were plenty more beasts to kill, and they were no longer afraid.
*
Morale surged among the soldiers and guards.
They no longer feared facing the monsters. If one couldn't do it, two would. If two weren't enough, three would. They fought desperately, whittling down the beasts' numbers.
And Eri's contribution to their valiant fight was not small.
[Magic Missile]
Five clumps of magical energy shot out from the tip of Eri's staff. Each one locked onto a different monster.
The monsters, struck unaware by the Magic Missiles, died with horrific screams.
Other monsters that witnessed their deaths fled. But no matter how far they ran, the Magic Missiles continued their pursuit, and the monsters could not escape their fate.
After successfully landing all five Magic Missiles, Eri took a deep breath.
As expected, Dual Casting was no easy feat.
The rate at which it consumed her mana and mental energy was no joke. Eri grabbed one of the mana potions Cloud had left and gulped it down.
She could feel her depleted mana beginning to rise again.
While her mana recovered, Eri checked on Neria and Ophelia.
"Hah!"
"Get back!"
They were doing their best to protect her from the harpies. Ophelia, in particular, was visibly drained from swinging her heavy mace; her arm was trembling.
Eri used Clairvoyance to find Cloud.
He was fighting alongside the soldiers and guards, slaying monsters.
Eri quietly closed her eyes.
She began chanting for Magic Missile again.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
At some point, Eri gave up on counting how many Magic Missiles she had fired.
She simply chanted, fired, and hit her targets like a machine, repeating the process over and over. After several hours, the end of this tedious task was finally in sight.
Two saber-toothed tigers turned to flee at the sight of her Magic Missiles. The projectiles flew swiftly and pierced through their backs.
Those two were the last.
There were no more monsters left in the city of Roberton.
Eri collapsed.
The Magic Missiles she had just fired were created by wringing out every last drop of her remaining mana. A powerful sense of exhaustion washed over her. She didn't even have the strength to lift a spoon.
As she stared weakly at the ground, she heard the patter of someone running.
Lifting her head, she saw Cloud leaping between rooftops. A moment later, he landed on the tower where they were.
Seeing Cloud, Eri remembered the hellish ordeal she had just been through and felt a surge of emotion.
She cried out in a resentful voice.
"How about that? You saw it, right? I did it! I did the impossible!"
I kept up that damn Dual Casting for hours!
Cloud's eyes widened for a moment at her voice, which seemed tinged with indignation. But he soon broke into a gentle smile.
"I know. I saw you while I was fighting. You did well, Eri. A lot of people are alive thanks to you."
"Uh... huh?"
Cloud placed a hand on Eri's head.
"You really are the best wizard I know."
"...!"
How long had it been since she'd received a compliment?
In the past, Cloud had praised and acknowledged her several times a day.
But after they parted ways, she hadn't been acknowledged once. Everyone around her had only belittled and criticized her. In other words, no one had ever recognized her worth.
Except for Cloud.
Even after they reunited, Cloud hadn't offered her any praise. Since that was largely her own fault, Eri couldn't dare to complain.
She was just grateful that he didn't put her down.
But now, Cloud was smiling brightly and praising her.
He acknowledged her skill.
It was an acknowledgment she hadn't received in so long.
Her chest tickled, her face flushed hot, and she felt like she was about to melt.
Eri lowered her head.
She pulled her hat down low, hiding her face from view.
"H-Hmph! F-For me, something like this is a piece of cake!"
After saying so, Eri waited for Cloud's reaction.
She hoped he would praise her more, lift her up.
But the reaction she wanted never came. Puzzled, Eri lifted her head, only to find that Cloud, who had been right in front of her, was gone.
"Huh...? Hey, Ophelia? Where's Cloud?"
"The Hero said he had something else to do and jumped off."
"Ah, I see...?"
*
We had dealt with all the monsters rampaging in Roberton.
The cleanup, dealing with the dead and injured, still remained, but that was a job for the guards and soldiers.
I mounted an ownerless horse and rode straight out of Roberton.
I hope they took care of the Behemoth without any major issues.
With Frillite there, I didn't need to worry too much, but I couldn't help it.
Fortunately, my worries were proven unfounded about ten minutes into my ride.
I spotted an army marching hastily toward Roberton. Frillite, who was leading from the front, saw me and turned her horse around to ride toward me.
"Cloud, are you all right?!"
"I'm fine. The city is, too."
"What do you mean, the city is fine?"
Frillite asked, her voice filled with anticipation. I nodded in response.
"The gates were breached, but we've dealt with all the monsters that got inside."
"That's a relief. Is the damage severe?"
"Quite a bit. The Oller Ducal Family will have a tough time with the recovery."
With so many collapsed structures, the property damage was severe, not to mention the countless dead and injured.
Frillite sighed.
"I suppose so. But it's a relief that it's manageable. I'm glad you don't seem to be hurt, either."
"You too. Seeing you heading back to the city, I take it the Behemoth subjugation went well?"
For some reason, Frillite nodded with a bitter expression. I wondered why she looked like that, but I could always ask her over drinks later.
I asked her the most important question right now.
"Then can you tell me where the dead Behemoth's corpse is?"
Frillite tilted her head.
"What is the purpose of that question?"
"I came all this way, I should at least see what a Behemoth looks like."
"Hmm... I suppose you would be curious. It's hard to explain with words, so I'll guide you there myself."
I waved my hand, declining her kind offer.
Even if it was Frillite, I was hesitant to show her the process of carving the pattern.
"It's fine. You need to go back to the city and handle the aftermath. I'll understand perfectly even if you just describe it, so just tell me."
"The aftermath... Right, there's that..."
She sounded disappointed but told me the location where the Behemoth had fallen.
Okay, I understood where it was.
"Alright, see you back there. Let's drink ourselves silly tonight."
"Drink ourselves silly, you say... That sounds good. Don't be late."
I immediately galloped toward the location Frillite had told me. I didn't dismount even as I neared the forest. My horsemanship wasn't so poor that I couldn't ride through a mere forest.
Thanks to riding through the woods, I arrived sooner than expected.
"Looks like they had a fierce fight."
The trees that had once packed the forest were all shattered, and the ground was covered with the bodies of soldiers. Given the opponent, the condition of the corpses was not good.
It was a blessing if a body was just missing a limb; many were missing their entire upper or lower halves.
I dismounted.
The horse was reluctant to walk into the field of corpses. Besides, there didn't seem to be any place for it to step.
'So this is why Frillite looked so grim.'
Knowing her personality, she was probably feeling an unnecessary sense of responsibility.
There was no need for that.
Just as I was thinking I should comfort her over drinks, I saw the corpse of a massive beast up ahead.
The beast, slightly smaller than an ogre, had a frame that at first glance resembled a water buffalo.
Unlike a water buffalo, however, its upper body was more developed than its lower, and the horn on its forehead was incomparably larger.
Large horns formed a mane on its back, and its claws and talons were larger and sharper than most greatswords.
I walked carefully toward the Behemoth's corpse, trying not to step on any pieces of viscera.
And then I saw them.
Two bipedal, robed octopus-heads whispering next to the Behemoth's corpse.
I saw the Behemoth's soul being sucked into a crystal held by one of them.
What the hell is this situation?
I crossed my arms and thought for a moment, then quietly drew my sword.
If you don't know, you ask.