Crow - 2
Crow - 2
***
Rob's scream, having suddenly lost both his eyes, grew even louder.
"Kkeueueueuk...!"
The sight of blood flowing from his two hollowed-out eyes evoked a primal sense of terror.
A fear much more vivid and intense than having one's limbs broken.
"W-what! What happened!"
Perhaps because of that, none of the paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray ran to save Rob. They all just hesitated, trying to grasp the situation. Or perhaps they were just dawdling while pretending to grasp the situation.
Only the reaction of the knight-errant Richard was a little different.
He was just as panicked as the paladins, but unlike the others, Richard tried to run to Rob.
However, Elbridge stopped Richard.
"Sir Richard. Come back."
Richard's steps halted.
If it had been a moment ago, he might have ignored Elbridge's words.
But the situation was different now. Was he not clearly seeing what state Rob, who had ignored Elbridge's warning, was in?
Elbridge said to the paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray.
"You lot, snap out of it now."
"But, Sir Rob is..."
"Did you think you came to hunt rabbits? If you came to fight a magical beast, it is only natural that injuries will follow."
Perhaps because Elbridge's tone felt somewhat coercive, one paladin raised his voice.
"Injury? You call that a mere injury! It's not like he hurt his limbs, his eyes are like that..."
It was the paladin with red hair. His name was Magnus, wasn't it?
Elbridge cut off Magnus's words.
"If he's dead, it's a fatality; if he's alive, it's an injury. Do we need any other classification?"
"..."
"You must be panicked. But for an injury, he can just go to the temple of the Goddess of Spring Rain and Moss and get treated. A scar might remain, but he should be able to recover his eyesight more or less. Since it's a wealthy order, they should be able to prepare enough offerings and donations to provide in return."
The red-haired paladin, Magnus, snapped at Elbridge.
"You. Are you speaking so lightly because it's someone else's business?"
"Someone else's business, you say."
Elbridge realized anew.
Even if they knew in their heads that fights inevitably entailed sacrifices, they had not engraved it in their hearts.
Elbridge pointed at Rob with his chin.
"Then go right now and save Sir Rob. I won't stop you."
"..."
Until just a moment ago, Elbridge had shown a rather polite attitude in front of the paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray.
Because Elbridge was in a hired position, and nothing had happened that required him to strongly assert his opinion.
But it was different now. He had to take the initiative in the conversation, even if it meant showing a rude side.
Since he knew they couldn't possibly make a better judgment than he could, it would be a foolish act to be swayed this way and that by their words.
Elbridge quietly stared at the red-haired paladin, Magnus.
There are only two situations on the battlefield where one must respect the opponent's opinion.
When one wants to avoid responsibility, and when the opponent has abilities worthy of respect.
And right now, it was neither.
Conversely, the paladins had to respect Elbridge's opinion. Because they did not want to take responsibility, and they thought Elbridge might possess abilities worthy of respect.
As expected, Magnus could not answer Elbridge's words and averted his gaze.
"Good. It seems you have no intention of going alone. Now I will explain what we must do."
At that, Magnus asked cautiously.
"Th-then... are you saying we have to do something too? Against that magical beast?"
Elbridge almost let out the sigh that welled up from deep within his chest.
There was that much of a tremendous gap between the expression 'What must we do?' and 'Must we do something too?'.
'...If it were the old days, he wouldn't even have been called an apprentice, let alone a paladin. There's no need to get angry.'
Elbridge gestured towards Solenion with his chin.
"If you're just going to spout nonsense out of fear, get lost right now. Sir Rob would want that too."
Perhaps because they were conscious of the eyes of others, not only Magnus but also the other paladins did not back down.
Although Marcus took exactly one step back... Marcus was not important in the current situation.
Charlie asked Elbridge.
"Sir Elbridge. Shouldn't we rescue Sir Rob first?"
"No. That crow won't kill Sir Rob right away."
"Why is that?"
"Crows are clever birds, and Sir Rob is already caught prey. It will know that it can catch even more prey using Sir Rob as bait."
In fact, it was only a strong probability, not a certainty. It would not be strange if that crow killed Rob right away. Because magical beasts are capricious by nature.
But even if such a situation arose, it was right not to act rashly right now.
"As you saw, that crow is not an enhancement-type but a distortion-type magical beast. It seems to have passed the early stages of magical beast transformation and is transitioning from mid-stage to late-stage. It's at a level we can still deal with more or less. You can consider a distance of about forty to fifty paces... no. A generous sixty paces as that creature's range. Is there anyone here who has received a mage's enchant on their armor?"
No one answered. It was unknown whether they had not received an enchant or just didn't want to step forward.
"...It doesn't matter even if you haven't received an enchant. Press your helmets down firmly and cover your necks well with your aventails. It would also be better to take care not to expose the large blood vessels on the front and inside of your thighs, and your eyes."
Charlie asked.
"Sir Elbridge. Can we block that creature's attacks with armor?"
"Look at Sir Rob's eyes. It didn't accurately attack just the eyeballs, but even the eyelids were torn off. It's a creature whose utilization of its distortion ability is not yet sharp."
"...That's not sharp?"
"If it were in the late stages of magical beast transformation, it would have left the eyelids and accurately plucked out only the eyeballs."
When a distortion-type magical beast reaches the late stages of magical beast transformation, armor loses all meaning. Because the body inside the armor will be directly attacked.
Armor becoming ineffective is not the only problem. It is also not impossible for them to intervene inside the body.
Elbridge had even seen a monkey that had reached the late stage wave its hand in the empty air and pull out a person's heart.
However, just because it is a distortion-type magical beast that has reached the late stage does not mean there is no way to counter it. A body protected by holy power or magical power cannot be easily invaded even by a distortion-type magical beast.
"There's no need to be too scared. The fact that it aimed for Sir Rob's eyes means, conversely, that it's difficult for it to attack parts that are not as soft as the eyes. Furthermore, avian-type magical beasts are not on the strong side in terms of physical strength. The power of the Order of the Golden Tray, which increases the durability of the body, has a good affinity with that magical beast."
The expressions of the paladins noticeably brightened. It seemed they had been quite scared.
Charlie asked.
"What should we do?"
"Do you have any gold coins left?"
"We do."
"Can you offer those gold coins to the god and bestow the power of the Order of the Golden Tray upon me?"
Charlie thought for a moment, then answered in a voice lacking confidence.
"I think it might be possible, but... I heard that bestowing power on a follower of another order is severely inefficient. Wouldn't it be better for each of us to offer gold coins and gain strength?"
"It's my role to kill that creature anyway. Even if it's inefficient, it's better to bestow the power on me. It's enough if it can stop that bastard's beak from popping out from inside my body."
"With just that much... No, I understand. Is that all?"
"Just cover your vital points with both arms, and run with me towards that magical beast. You don't need to attack the magical beast. I will do that, so you just rescue Sir Rob. Oh, and you. Please lend me one spear."
Elbridge received a modular spear from Magnus. However, he did not assemble the spear shaft and kept it in its short state.
A spear in his left arm, a sword in his right.
Elbridge stared at the crow and steadied his breathing.
Only then did Charlie realize one important fact.
That unlike the others, Elbridge had no armor.
If they concentrated the power on him, the mishap of that crow's beak popping out from inside Elbridge's body would not happen, but just as Rob had lost his eyes, it was entirely possible for the crow to aim for Elbridge's vital points.
No, it was a foregone conclusion that Elbridge would be attacked.
Eyes, neck, heart... If the crow's beak popped out from a point just a finger joint or two away from a vital point, there was no way to survive.
"Sir Elbridge. I think it would be better if we just rescued Sir Rob and got out."
"Why?"
"You don't have armor, Sir Elbridge."
"You don't need to worry about that. I can just use my sword like armor."
"...?"
Not only Charlie but also the other paladins did not understand Elbridge's last words.
"And unlike other magical beasts, distortion-type magical beasts must be killed immediately upon discovery, no matter what happens. It's not a situation where we can just appropriately let it go. Bestow the power upon me."
The paladins did not ask Elbridge for further explanation. Because they were afraid that if they misspoke, the dangerous role might fall to them.
Instead, they took out a handful or two of gold coins from their pouches and sprinkled them over Elbridge's head.
Chwaaak—
"O God of the Golden Tray, bestow your power!"
A massive amount of gold coins scattered into the empty air like water mist. Following that, strength dwelled in Elbridge's body.
Elbridge clenched his fist tightly and gauged the amount of power.
'...It really is inefficient.'
Still, this much was worth a try. Elbridge tapped the ground with the spear shaft.
"Let's go."
Elbridge kicked off the ground. Elbridge's eyes were fixed on the red eyes of the crow magical beast.
<><><>
"Let's go!"
The paladins of the Order of the Golden Tray still could not shake off their fear. But since Elbridge, who wasn't even wearing armor, had taken the lead, they couldn't possibly hesitate.
They crossed their arms to cover their faces, and looking at their surroundings through the narrow gap between their forearms, they ran by Elbridge's side.
The distance to the crow magical beast rapidly decreased. A hundred paces, eighty paces, sixty paces.
And when it was about fifty paces.
Kkaak—
The red-haired paladin, Magnus, felt a sensation as if someone was striking his left forearm with a sharp object.
Teong—
And he immediately realized. That the crow magical beast had aimed for his eye.
Goosebumps erupted all over his body.
They said crows were cunning birds.
Now it would definitely target Elbridge, who wasn't wearing armor. Magnus's gaze naturally turned towards Elbridge.
The crow let out an unpleasant cry.
Kkaak—
At the same time, Elbridge slightly twisted his head and used the sword in his right hand to cover his neck.
The flat of Elbridge's sword was pressed tightly against his neck, not even an inch away. It was to the point of worrying if his neck or chin would be cut by doing that.
Immediately after, Magnus saw something pitch-black pop out from in front of Elbridge's neck.
It was a point barely a finger joint or two away from Elbridge's neck.
Teong—
Elbridge's head was slightly shaken backward.
'...Crazy.'
This time as well, Magnus immediately realized what he had just seen.
Elbridge had predicted that the crow's beak would distort space and pop out in front of his neck, and he had blocked the crow magical beast's beak using the flat of his sword.
Using a sword like armor meant exactly that.
A sword is a piece of iron, and armor is a piece of iron too. If one can defend the exact point at the exact timing, a sword can replace armor.
'...But, how on earth?'
<><><>
Elbridge's gaze was fixed on the crow's red eyes.
'Neck.'
Elbridge's sword covered his neck.
Teong—
Sure enough, the crow's beak popped out and struck Elbridge's sword.
'Left eye.'
Elbridge's sword was raised, covering his left eye.
Teong—
This time too, it was as expected. The crow's beak popped out and struck the flat of the sword.
There is one characteristic of distortion-type magical beasts that have passed the late stage but have not yet reached the final stage.
Distortion almost always occurs at the point where the magical beast's gaze reaches.
Therefore, Elbridge carefully gauged where the magical beast's gaze was reaching.
If the prediction is accurate and one has enough guts, it is not difficult to block the attacks of a distortion-type magical beast.
'Heart.'
Teong—
The problem was that predicting it was not easy.
Unlike human eyes, animal eyes often do not clearly show the whites.
That was the same for that crow magical beast.
To accurately gauge the crow's gaze using only the movement of pupils filled entirely with red feels almost impossible.
Everyone looked at Elbridge and harbored the same question.
How is such a thing possible?
In fact, Elbridge during his apprentice paladin days had also harbored the same question as them.
That was why the young Elbridge had asked the chief paladin of the order.
"Chief Paladin. How are paladins able to gauge the gaze of a distortion-type magical beast?"
The chief paladin's answer was plain.
"The bastards who couldn't do it all died."
And Elbridge survived without dying. That was all.
Kkaak—
Teong.
Elbridge defended against the crow magical beast's attacks four times in a row like that.
'I think this one is a little easier to predict because it has eight eyes...'
At some point, the clanking sound of the armor of the paladins running with him had stopped. They must surely be watching Elbridge's back from Rob's side.
This time, the crow's beak popped out without a cry. It was a blow aimed at Elbridge's forehead.
Teong—
Of course, Elbridge received the crow's attack this time as well.
'Cunning bastard. So you saved one last move.'
Before he knew it, Elbridge had reached a distance of fifteen paces from the crow magical beast.
The crow magical beast, finally sensing a threat, spread its two wings and took flight.
'Of course.'
Elbridge's two hands crossed, and the positions of the spear and sword switched.
Now Elbridge held the sword in his left hand and the short spear in his right hand.
Elbridge's upper body arched back to the limit.
Then, Elbridge used the elasticity of his whole body to flick his upper body forward.
Kkaak—
The short spear cut through the empty air, flew, and pierced the crow.