Chapter 61: The Worst Reunion (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 61: The Worst Reunion (7)
Everything was a mess.
In front of me was Yobeste; behind me, Mirei’s party and those two guys were losing their minds because my identity had been revealed.
Which side should I focus on?
Yobeste, obviously.
“Yarismal! Focus on healing the other adventurers first, not me!”
“But…!”
“Shrinking the trap zone is more important!”
“Understood!”
The rangers were all advancing bit by bit, disarming Yobeste’s traps as they went. Even if we killed that Bierma bastard, we still had to clear the traps from this reed field.
“Diane, get down. Levantello, help me out here!”
“Got it!”
I took my stance.
As Diane stayed as low as possible, Levantello and I spun in tandem, our spear and daggers shredding the reeds around us. It was a necessary measure; Yobeste was using these damn reeds to play his guerrilla games.
Even as we moved, hacking away at everything in sight, no traps went off. Diane was moving her fingers at lightning speed, disarming every trap in our vicinity.
Swoooosh—!
Sensing the threat, Yobeste’s spear flew toward Diane.
“Not on my watch!”
Levantello, who had been on the defensive until now, confidently swatted it away. I lunged toward the direction the spear had come from.
Click.
I felt something under my foot, but Diane dove in and disarmed it in an instant.
“Alto, two o’clock to your right!”
“Hmph!”
I told you, it’s not Alto, it’s Bloodhound!
Slash.
“Urgh…!”
Good. It was shallow, but I felt the impact. Howling tracked the scent of his blood, carving through the reeds. I could hear the sound of Yobeste’s footsteps as he repositioned.
He was flustered.
Those spheres from earlier flew toward my face again. Diane covered them with two steel bowls, just like before, neutralizing the blast.
“Hey, aren’t those my cooking tools?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
How the hell did she manage to bring those stainless steel bowls along?
When I grumbled, Diane immediately apologized, looking like she didn’t know what to do with herself. I didn’t even want to look at her.
“Just focus on the traps.”
“O-Okay!”
There were so many damn traps that despite Diane’s speed, our progress was agonizingly slow.
“Alto, what’s the plan?”
“I don’t know. I’d like to settle this with a bang, though.”
The madness I felt during my prime wasn’t quite surfacing.
“Dammit, why are they so dense… Aaaagh—!!!”
K-Boom!
The rangers on the perimeter were trying to disarm traps in their own way, but they were nowhere near as fast as Diane. One of them had just messed up and got caught; Yarismal was frantically healing them to keep them alive.
Sssssss—!
And the bastard’s throwing spears kept flying in from our blind spots!
Clang—!
“Sigh, I’m losing my buzz.”
Right?
This was such a pathetic way to fight. Too scared of getting hurt to take a proper step, eyeing the opponent like a coward. The name ‘Bloodhound’ was being put to shame.
“Both of you, back off. Don’t get in my way from here on out.”
This wasn’t like a hunting dog at all.
A true hunting dog must pursue its enemy even while bleeding. And that enemy—the prey—should do nothing but run forward in sheer terror.
But right now? I was the one being cautious.
“No, this won’t do.”
I let my hands, gripping Roar and Howling, hang loosely at my sides.
“Sssssssip.”
I arched my back and took a deep breath.
Swoooosh—!
A spear flew in. I dodged it with a slight twist of my torso. I purposely let it graze me.
Splurt!
“Alto!”
Blood sprayed. The Little Lady screamed. The beads of blood that had been forming suddenly turned into a crimson flow.
“Grrrrrr…!”
This scent of blood was what awakened me.
Click.
I flipped Roar and Howling into a reverse grip. The muscles from my torso down to my calves bulged.
“The hound is making its final, desperate struggle!”
Yobeste tried to taunt me, thinking he had the upper hand. You idiot. Why are you making noise and giving yourself away?
“There you are.”
My eyes met his through the reeds we hadn’t cut yet. In that instant, I exploded forward.
“Alto, be careful—!”
“Shut up.”
I heard Diane’s voice trying to stop me from behind. My body, propelled by the momentum, showed no signs of stopping.
Click.
The ground gave way. Before I could fall, I used my daggers to scale the side of the pit and kept running.
Click.
This time, a booby trap with blades embedded on both sides swung toward me. I flexed my muscles further and batted them away one after the other. A blade bit into my forearm.
It hurt.
Actually, I liked it. This was getting exciting!
“Haha…!”
Yobeste moved. He scrambled to get away from me. But my gaze never left him. I ran straight for him. Countless traps were triggered; I dodged the easy ones and tanked the annoying ones with my body.
“Hehe…”
His footsteps grew more frantic. Only then did I flash a satisfied hunter’s grin.
“Kuh… Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!”
I see it—the terror in your eyes!
I wound up and hurled Howling. The heavy dagger flew in a straight line, without even an arc. I used a few leaps to vault into the air, gripping Roar with both hands, preparing to strike downward.
“Foolish! Do you think you can dodge a spear in mid-air?!”
In a desperate move, Yobeste threw two spears. They flew straight at me, but my posture didn’t waver for a second.
Thwack!
The two spears pierced my stomach. Yobeste smirked as if he’d won. I gave him a smile in return.
“Ha~hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!”
It was so exhilarating I couldn’t help but laugh!!!!
“H-Hieeeek…!”
The ‘brave’ Bierma warrior froze at the sight of my smile, and—
Sla-sh!
The Roar I swung down buried itself from his shoulder to his stomach.
“Guaaaaah…!”
Yobeste collapsed onto the ground. I stood over him, egging him on.
“Yes, this is it! This is the joy of the battlefield! That touch-and-go moment where you could kill me and I could kill you! Hey, Yobeste. What’s your next move? What, no traps going off? Is this a safe zone? Whatever. Bring out the next one. That boring start is finally starting to heat up!”
I grabbed him by the neck and screamed, spitting as I spoke.
“Make this fun for me—!!!!”
Silence followed my shout. Everyone was looking at me with disgusted, horrified eyes. But Yobeste soon regained his senses and smirked at me.
“See… cough… only war can satisfy us… This is… why we should have died back then…”
The patterns engraved on his nearly bisected body began to glow all at once. Simultaneously, a searing heat radiated from the reed field.
“Everyone, get back! As fast as you can! It’s a sign of a large-scale explosion!”
I heard Narupa’s voice for the first time in a while. Diane ran with Levantello slung over her shoulder. The other adventurers did the same.
“I do not know… what evil resides here… or why it took root… But, if this reed field is cleared… they will gain their freedom…”
The Bierma markings always glowed when the body died, whether the death was instant or slow. And those markings granted the final, powerful wish of the body’s owner. Just as Mirachi Bichante had used the power of those markings to protect the surviving veterans in his final moments.
“You bastard… was this your goal from the start, whether you died or not?!”
“Hound… I shall throw you a new prey…!”
“You son of a—!”
Light seared my eyes. My ears went numb, and I couldn’t hear a thing. Only the heat that felt like it would melt my body and the explosion erupting from his corpse remained. I was helplessly swallowed by the flames.
As my vision was forced shut, the last thing I saw were two slender arms reaching out for me.
* * *
K-BOOOOM—!!
“Aaaagh! My eyes!”
“We have casualties! Priest, Priest!”
“Lady Yarismal, please, heal them!”
Some adventurers were caught in the blast and sent rolling. It was pure pandemonium. Ironically, amidst that carnage, some found a different kind of opportunity.
“Mirei! Krima! Let’s get out of here!”
“What? Why should we…”
“You idiot! Didn’t you see? Alto is that Alto Bertrand! You saw him handle Yobeste! We… we’ve literally become the women who cheated on a war hero…! Do you think the Kingdom will let us be?!”
The women who cheated on a war hero.
Mirei, who had once dreamed of being a veteran-adventurer couple, felt like she was falling into an abyss.
“We have to live. We have to stay alive to figure something out!”
“Live…? After committing such an irreversible wrong, with what face can I pray to God and live…?”
“Whatever it takes, you have to live to have a chance at being forgiven!”
Forgiveness or not, Resin’s only thought was survival. She was trying her best to persuade the others, but she too was in a state of panic over the crime she had committed. Only the instinct to not die kept her moving.
“Where are we going?”
“The Magic Tower. To the Magic Tower. At least if we have some magitech value, they’ll keep us alive.”
The three said no more. Avoiding the heat of the explosion and the eyes of the other adventurers, they crawled on their stomachs and barely managed to escape the reed field when a shout reached their ears.
“Mirei’s party is gone!”
“Those bitches! The only thing Hero-rank about them is how fast they run!!”
It was the voices of the Station Manager and the Branch Manager. Hearing the venomous sarcasm, Mirei gritted her teeth so hard her jaw muscles bulged. Still, no tears came. She couldn’t even bring herself to cry.
K-BOOOOM—!!
An earth-shattering roar tore through people’s eardrums. The center of the explosion was none other than the spot where the Bloodhound and Yobeste had been.
“Alto—!!!!!! Aaaaaaaagh!!!!!”
Airune, who had been forced to watch without being able to do much, screamed, and Dakuus quickly stepped in front of her.
“You mustn’t!”
“Move! My husband! The Great Lord’s consort is right there!”
“If it’s Alto, he’s surely alive. He’s a man who survived a lightning strike worse than that. Trust this old man and get back!”
While they were arguing, the flames were soaring toward the sky. At that moment, a figure appeared through the pillar of fire that obscured everything.
“Alto?”
The one who emerged from the flames was Diane. However, she was supporting an unconscious Alto.
“Heff, huff!”
When she reflexively opened her mouth for fresh air, the searing heat rushed into her throat. Yarismal, who had been staring blankly at the ranger rolling on the ground, summoned her divine power and completely healed both Diane and Alto.
Airune and Narupa supported Alto and loaded him into Arasen’s carriage.
“Please take care of Lord Alto.”
“What about you, Lady Yarismal?”
At Count Dakuus’s question, Yarismal equipped Love and Peace on both hands.
“I must deliver the punishment for the crimes Lukart has committed.”
“Hmm… Hus will join that punishment soon enough.”
“I look forward to it. What will you do now?”
“Since Levantello seems to have withdrawn, Hus will return as well.”
“With Lord Alto?”
“Alto is the husband of the Great Lord. He belongs to Hus.”
“Ha.”
Yarismal stared at Arasen’s carriage. Should she smash it and take him back? No. Right now, her husband’s safety was the priority.
“I will visit you in the near future.”
“You are welcome anytime.”
Yarismal and Dakuus stepped back for now to attend to their respective tasks.
“Miss Arasen, let’s move!”
“Hyah!”
The carriage took off. Inside the carriage lay the unconscious Alto, cradled in his lover’s arms. While Narupa and Dakuus checked on Alto’s condition, Arasen, who was shocked enough to be stressed out by the past few days, kept whipping the horses.
“Take… take me too…!”
And running behind them was one ranger girl.
“Alto…! Alto! I was wrong. Please take me too!”
She had abandoned everything and was simply running toward the carriage.
“Altoo—!!!!”
She followed, her face a mess of tears and snot. She sprinted with all her might, but unless one was a veteran or a hero, they couldn’t keep up with horses. Yet, Diane was somehow maintaining the distance.
Dakuus, noticing her presence, spoke to Airune.
“It might be best to take her.”
“She’s the bitch who hurt him. I won’t let her off easy.”
“It seems Lukart lost the other members of Mirei’s party. If we secure her and have her track them down, she’ll be useful.”
“……”
“Most importantly, if we take her to Hus, we can punish her however we want without the Kingdom’s interference.”
“…Hmph.”
The carriage continued to speed away while Airune deliberated.
“Heff… huff…!”
It felt like her knees would shatter and give way if she took even one wrong step. Diane’s vision was blurred by tears. She was chasing only the silhouette of the carriage.
“I was wrong! I was wrong!”
No matter how much she cried out, the carriage didn’t stop.
“I want to be forgiven. I was wrong! I’ll do anything!”
Her pronunciation was slurred by her sobbing, and saliva dripped from her mouth. Her knee joints felt like they were on fire.
“Whoa!”
Finally, her foot slipped, and as she fell forward, Diane felt herself suspended in the air.
Ah, am I going to lose it? The chance to beg for forgiveness?
Right then, a rope was thrown from Arasen’s carriage. The haphazardly thrown rope slapped Diane across the cheek, but the ranger clung to it desperately. Gritting her teeth and using only her arm strength, Diane hauled herself up and barely managed to scramble onto the roof of the carriage.
“Huuu… huff…”
After glancing back to confirm Diane was clinging to the roof and catching her breath, Arasen drove the horses even faster.
For some reason, she felt like crying.