Echoes of Ribanas Plains
"Greetings."
When I offered my greeting, they responded with a slight nod. As I'd felt since earlier, they had no intention of exchanging names at all. Well, since they were a secret organization, it was only natural for them to value anonymity, but either way, it worked out well for me too.
There was no need to come up with a fake name, and that reduced the risk of making a mistake. Besides, I'd always found introducing myself to strangers awkward anyway.
"Just in case, don't pay any attention to what that madman says."
"Of course. If killing people darkened your soul, becoming a Dark Priest wouldn't be this difficult in the first place."
At least they weren't all beneath contempt.
"Of course. But why are you keeping someone like that here?"
Someone like that wouldn't be any help at all. Of course, if he possessed exceptional skill it might be different, but it didn't seem that way, and keeping someone spouting nonsense like that around while trying to sleep was hard to understand.
"Olsidra said that even someone like him would soon have a use."
A use. Honestly, even if used with maximum efficiency, he'd probably only serve as bait or a meat shield.
"Anyway, at this gathering, there will finally be those who earn the true name of Dark Priest."
"Yes. And they will be able to ascend to Urshus's temple."
Urshus's temple. I knew that temples to Urshus had once been built in various places. But none of them could possibly remain standing now. Even if new ones had been erected, where would they be?
"Does no one know where the temple is located?"
"That's right. Apparently even Olsidra doesn't know, except for Alsh Unak."
"Because he is Urshus's first blood."
'Urshus's first blood?'
Records about the demon gods were scarce, but there were quite a few about Urshus. Of course, most of them were only brief additions to records about the Dark Priests, but in forbidden texts and the books of the Dark Priests, there were long, lengthy praises of Urshus, as well as detailed records of the names, ranks, and abilities of his followers.
But in none of those records had I ever encountered the expression "Urshus's first blood."
"……."
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Without realizing it, my gaze had drifted toward the window. No matter how well hidden, they couldn't have entered the house, and they were surely waiting outside. Elena or Geil might not know, but perhaps Granbipra would.
"No, it's nothing. I was just feeling a bit stuffy."
"Well, four men in one room would make anyone feel cramped."
The tall man opened the window, and a cool breeze blew into the room.
"When does Olsidra's prayer usually end?"
"Who knows. Maybe it'll be over soon?"
I was thinking of making up an excuse to go outside. I wanted to ask about Urshus's first blood, but I also needed to discuss the situation ahead.
"Come to think of it, the wind was blowing like this back then too."
Just as I was searching for an excuse, the tall man spoke up. All eyes turned to him, and naturally, my chance to speak vanished.
"Back then?"
The middle-aged man asked, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the tall man.
"The wind blew in just like this. Right after the battle ended on the Ribanas Plains."
Ribanas Plains. I had been about to leave the room at the right moment, but the familiar place name piqued my interest despite myself.
"Did you fight there?"
"Of course! I fought alongside the Hero of Light, Lord Rowell himself!"
"The Hero?"
At the mention of Rowell's name, the atmosphere in the room changed completely. Everyone inside looked at the tall man with shining eyes, like young boys.
"You mean you actually met the Hero?"
"Not just met him! I fought the Demon King's army together with him! We clashed with thousands of the Death Army!"
His voice was so full of conviction that I nearly tilted my head in confusion. Of course, there had been a battle at the Ribanas Plains. While the others were capturing a nearby Demon King army fortress, Rowell and I had provided support to prevent the rebels from being wiped out.
Though it was called the Death Army, the surrounding territory at the time belonged to Zeka, not Georges, and the Death Army had come as reinforcements at Zeka's request.
Of course, their numbers weren't small, but they weren't a massive force exceeding a thousand either. It had been a unit composed of Skeletons, Death Knights, Dullahans, and Liches. I think the unit's name was Skullwolf.
"We were advancing to capture the Demon King's main fortress when thousands of the Death Army were waiting for us on the Ribanas Plains."
I stared quietly at his face. If my memory wasn't wrong, the rebels had been in no position to advance at the time. The Ribanas Plains was where the rebels had retreated to hide, and the Skullwolf unit had pursued them on Zeka's orders.
"Countless skeletons charged at us with swords drawn. The commander was an idiot, and our unit leader was pathetic. Terrified by that enormous number, no order came from the supreme commander, and the unit leader ordered us to retreat. Well, some had already fled even before that order was given. Not that I couldn't understand it. The numbers were that overwhelming."
The face of the man speaking was the very image of a war hero. Of course, if he had fought in that battle, he deserved praise for his courage and sacrifice, even if his contributions were minor. But somehow, his overly solemn tone felt half like bravado, leaving me with an uneasy feeling.
"But I didn't back down! I summoned my familiars with all my strength and held my ground until the supreme commander gave the order!"
"What about the Hero? What was the Hero doing?"
"The Hero hadn't arrived yet at that point. The skeleton bastards drew their swords and charged at us. Even though they were nothing but bones, it felt like the whole ground was shaking with their footsteps."
At the time, there hadn't been that many Skeletons. And from experience, when there are that many Skeletons, what hurts your ears isn't the ground shaking from footsteps, but the sound of bones clattering against each other. Moreover, Rowell and I had been with the rebels long before the Death Army arrived. We were the ones who had warned the rebels that the Death Army was coming and to prepare.
"Of course the other soldiers fought hard too, but my familiar and I fought with everything we had! The Iron Lion I summoned chewed through so many Skeletons that its iron teeth broke, and I smashed dozens of Skeletons that had gotten close with my staff."
Obviously, an Iron Lion's teeth are made of iron. Well, the Iron Lion itself had been manufactured in Aphros and distributed along with the "Aphros Sword" to summoners in the resistance and allied forces at the time, so that was fine. But for iron teeth to break from crushing human bones, how many would you have to bite through?
Besides, summoner units were usually positioned behind even the mage units. If Skeletons had reached that far, the battle's outcome would already have been decided.
"But no matter how hard we fought, those damned undead kept coming. The Iron Lion couldn't move anymore, and my staff was broken. I picked up a sword that another soldier had dropped on the ground. Even if I died there, I was determined to smash at least one more of those skeleton bastards for the others."
Surely he couldn't have only been able to summon a single Iron Lion. If the Iron Lion had fallen, he should have quickly summoned other familiars—why pick up a sword? Moreover, as I'd said earlier, summoner units were deployed near the rear. If the original sword owner had dropped their weapon, the situation was already over. As a summoner, he wouldn't have had time to pick up a sword.
"So, so what happened then?"
But the others didn't seem to have any such thoughts. As they asked with sparkling eyes, he puffed up slightly and continued in a solemn voice, as if he had returned to that moment.
"It was after I'd smashed about five of those skeleton bastards' skulls. A Death Knight approached me, leading other Skeletons. They must have found my presence annoying."
Death Knights usually moved in groups of three on the battlefield.
"I thought I was dead. But at that moment, a brilliant light seemed to graze my side, and the Skeletons and the Death Knight were instantly torn to pieces."
"Th-then!"
I could see anticipation rising in their eyes. Even though they could probably guess the rest, they waited eagerly for the next part of the story.
"The Hero had arrived! I couldn't even properly see him swing his sword, but the area around me was already completely cleared."
Well, that part was true. After all, mere Skeletons and Death Knights couldn't stop Rowell.
"I saw the Hero with my own eyes! That beautiful and gentle face! I almost forgot we were in the middle of battle. Then the Hero approached me."
Now the others were holding their breath, completely focused on his words.
"And he said this to me. 'I'm glad someone as brave as you is alive. Would you be able to come with me to the fortress?' I replied, 'Thank you for your kind words, but I've run out of mana. Even if I followed you like this, I wouldn't be of any help to you. Besides, I have to protect the others.' Then the Hero looked at me quietly and said regretfully, 'Then I'll leave the others in your care here.' And he lightly bowed his head to me, showing his respect. Truly, there was no moment in my life that made me happier than that……!"
"……."
I desperately suppressed the laughter that threatened to burst out. Of course, it was true that Rowell was polite even to ordinary soldiers and always showed respect for their courage and sacrifice. But there had been no time for such words during that battle.
Rowell had been dealing with Death Knights and elite Dullahans at the very front lines. Moreover, if the situation had been as urgent as he described, where would Rowell have found time for such a long conversation with an ordinary summoner?
What was even funnier was that I had probably been standing quite close to this man at the time. During that battle, I had been summoning familiars to support other soldiers or directly attacking Liches that were casting attack magic toward Rowell.
Of course, even if he had really participated in that battle, we wouldn't have directly encountered each other, and I had no memory of seeing him. Quite some time had passed since then, after all.
But to not recognize me even when standing this close.
'Well, it wasn't the first time. There were quite a few soldiers who fought alongside me defending the fortress all night but failed to recognize me the next day just because my clothes had changed.'