Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Side Story, Apostate (5)
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Hero Kyle Toben looked ahead.
The calamity leading the beasts was approaching. With every step she took, Kyle retreated one step.
"A way."
He had to find a way to hunt the calamity.
Kyle looked around. Sara and Remia entered his field of vision. They weren't much different from him. They were trembling in fear.
"...".
They weren't who Kyle was looking for.
He turned his head a bit more. In a situation like this, the one who always came up with answers in the nick of time was someone else.
Kyle's gaze, having turned, landed on Raniel.
He was staggering as he walked. Dragging one foot like his leg had been severed, he headed toward the corner of the cliff.
Thud.
Standing at the edge of the cliff, he knelt and placed his hand on the ground. His broken arm hung toward the floor, while his good arm stretched toward Kyle.
Smash.
The shockwave shook the earth.
The edge of the cliff where Raniel stood couldn't withstand the impact and crumbled away. As he plummeted toward the black plains, Raniel unleashed another spell.
Chain.
Restriction.
Chains shot out from Raniel's outstretched hand.
The chains wrapped around Remia, Sara, and Kyle. Raniel roughly swung the arm where he'd bound the chains.
Clang!
Those ensnared by the chains were pulled toward Raniel. The speed wasn't enough. Kyle made his judgment in an instant and kicked off the ground, leaping forward.
"Remia!"
At Kyle's shout, Remia hugged Sara. Kyle grabbed them as he kicked off the ground and leaped beyond the cliff after Raniel.
Kagagagak!
The armored dragon bit down on the spot where Kyle had just been standing. They had escaped the range by a hair's breadth. There was no time to be surprised by that fact.
Thud!
Kyle landed beside Raniel.
The falling speed was no joke. The ground was approaching fast. Looking at the nearing ground, Kyle shouted.
"Raniel!"
"I know, no need to call me like that."
Raniel, lifting his broken arm, clapped his hands. A spell settled into the pile of rocks he had collapsed alongside them.
Deceleration.
The pile of rocks slowed down.
Falling at a reduced speed, they looked up at the sky. Dust rose from the cliff where they had just been standing.
Boom, boooom!
The cliff was shaking.
The watchtower of Rodimel Fortress shattered into pieces and collapsed. Cracks formed in the cliff along with the crumbling fortress.
Kagagagak!
Like an earth dragon burrowing through the ground, the armored dragon tore through the cliff and burst out. Looking at it, Kyle broke out in cold sweat.
"...That thing, I have to cut it down?"
If it was just one, he could cut it down.
But facing five at once? He had no choice but to say it was impossible.
It defied common sense.
Fear washed over him just like when he first faced Ancient Lich Skeval or the Black Storm Belial. Kyle slowly turned his head.
"...".
There was Raniel.
He was clutching his broken arm, glaring at the sky. He was looking at the apostate standing on the collapsing cliff.
There was no fear in those eyes.
As always, they were the eyes of a mage seeking an answer.
"...Raniel."
Kyle asked.
"Can you take on that thing?"
Raniel answered the question.
"Gotta find a way. Somehow."
2.
The ground shook.
A booming sound of something collapsing echoed. The unique stench of the beasts pierced their noses.
The knights gathered in the tents sensed the anomaly.
Bwoooo!
The horn blared across the camp.
The knights who sensed the change emerged from their tents one by one. And they came face to face with it.
"...What the hell is that."
The cliff where Rodimel Fortress stood was collapsing. Amid the pouring rocks, a massive beast rampaged. The fog that had blanketed the fortress settled over the plains.
Beasts.
In numbers too vast to count, the beasts filled the plains. Staring at the wave of beasts lining the horizon, the knights blinked.
They wanted to believe it was fake.
But the stench of beasts stinging their noses reminded them this was reality.
Squelch.
Someone approached the knights, stepping on the rain-soaked grass. The knights looked at them. Figures walked toward them with the rising sun at their backs.
The Hero and his party.
They stood before the knights, covered in dirt. Seeing their state and the sight of Rodimel Fortress... the answer was obvious.
"The plan failed."
The knights' faces darkened.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ There was still time before Gletus, leading the beasts, arrived. Using the brief respite, Raniel treated his wounds.
"The injuries are ridiculous."
Sara frowned.
As the Saintess, she knew how many reinforcement spells Raniel usually layered on himself.
Even with that many, Raniel's arm was completely twisted.
"And that was just blocking one hit."
There were five such beasts.
She couldn't imagine winning. Sara's face darkened.
"...Raniel."
Sara, healing Raniel's arm, spoke up.
"We're... you know."
"Yeah."
Her fingers trembled faintly.
"How about we just run?"
At those words, Raniel's head turned slowly. Frowning, he asked back.
"What'd you say?"
"Let's run. You see what's out there right now?"
Sara pointed outside the tent. The knights were forming ranks. Trembling in fear, they reinforced the barricades, dragged out heavy ballistae, and prepared for battle.
"We're the Hero Party, right?"
She continued.
"With just Kyle, we can take down that calamity someday. It doesn't have to be now."
Sara was scared. She'd faced many strong foes crossing battlefields. She'd even encountered two of the Four Calamities. But nothing was as dangerous as this.
Not even Ancient Lich Skeval.
Not even Black Storm, Black Dragon Belial.
They weren't as dangerous as Apostate Gletus. Raniel had smashed the Ancient Lich's plans every time. The Black Dragon hadn't attacked aggressively to protect its hatchlings.
But the apostate was different.
She radiated madness. Facing a being whose very existence was a blasphemy against the divine, Sara froze in terror.
"Yeah, Sara's right."
Remia, who had been quietly listening to Sara, spoke up. She was scared too.
"That's... not it. How about we aim for next time?"
"Yeah, next time. We can prepare fully like with the Black Dragon, gather more people..."
Sara pleaded, continuing her words.
She grabbed Raniel's arm and looked up at him.
"Let go."
Slap. Raniel shook off her hand.
"Do you even know what you're saying right now?"
Raniel extended his still-unhealed hand and grabbed Sara's collar. He lifted her up. Raniel's blue eyes gleamed right in front of Sara's nose.
"Those knights out there are holding on, expecting us to do something. They're not like us. One flick of a finger from that calamity, and they're dead."
He said.
"Abandon all those knights and run from this battlefield? Sacrifice all of them?"
"W-We’re the Hero Party."
"Doesn’t... the Hero surviving matter more?"
"Yeah, it does. It matters."
His voice was chilling.
"The reason the Hero matters is because they have to face calamities. Because they have to be the symbol of victory."
That was what a Hero was.
A Hero couldn’t back down.
They always had to be the symbol of victory.
"Even if we sacrifice the knights, we can't escape cleanly from here. The front line itself will collapse. If we can't stop it here, shaking off the pursuit will be tough, right?"
To run, someone had to buy time.
Muttering that, Raniel asked.
"The knights aren't enough. So who buys that time?"
"...".
"We do. To save the important Hero like you said, everyone except the Hero sacrifices themselves."
"...That's."
"You don't like that?"
Raniel sneered.
"Then we gotta catch it, fuck it."
Thud. He released Sara's collar.
As Sara rubbed her neck, Raniel staggered toward Kyle.
"Hey, Kyle."
"...I heard."
He held out his arm.
"As you can see, my arm's fucked, so I can't keep up with you this time."
"...".
"Instead, let's try another way."
He spread two fingers.
"15 seconds."
Miming bending the fingers, he said.
"I'll stop Gletus's movements for exactly 15 seconds."
Raniel asked.
"Can you cut her down?"
"...Five armored dragons are guarding her. Forget the fog—killing all five and slashing Gletus in 15 seconds is impossible."
"How many can you do?"
"Two is the limit."
"Good, that's enough."
He nodded and headed out of the tent.
"...Where are you going, Raniel?"
"To find someone to handle the remaining three."
Raniel set off.
Toward the tent of Sword Master Kuntel.
3.
Sword Master Kuntel glared at Raniel, who had barged into his tent.
"...You're a mess."
His condition was poor. Even wrapped in the Saintess's blessing, recovery was slow. His arm, crushed to the bone, didn't look like it would heal anytime soon.
Tearing his eyes from the injury, Kuntel asked.
"What is it, Raniel?"
"Uncle Kuntel, I've got a favor to ask."
Raniel said as he perched on a chair in the tent. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he pointed outside.
"You see the beasts swarming in right now."
"Yeah. Honestly, I think holding them off will be tough... but I've got the knights ready anyway."
"...Thanks."
"Let me say this first, Raniel."
Kuntel said firmly.
"I'm prepared to give my life. But even so, I don't think I can send you all out alive from that horde."
He knew his own skill well.
Even throwing himself in with resolve to die, he couldn't take down Gletus. Even cutting one armored dragon around the calamity was uncertain.
"...Desperate."
He'd devoted his life to the sword, yet there was little he could do.
As he looked at Raniel with bitter eyes, Raniel chuckled.
"Never planned on running in the first place."
"...What do you mean?"
"You know, Uncle Kuntel? No matter how much it seems to defy common sense... it's surprisingly bound by rules."
Raniel lifted his broken arm.
Shaking it, he said.
"Familiars have a delay. They need to open a gate to the other world to pull in summoned beasts."
But.
Muttering that, Raniel continued.
"Not Gletus. That crazy bitch has one arm straight-up dipped in the other world. Don't know how... but."
Raniel tapped his own eyes.
"Looking at the circuits, the familiars aren't connected to Gletus's mana. They're linked to that arm. Cut off that arm... and all the familiars get bounced back to the other world."
"...That means."
"Yeah. Somehow get Kyle close and have him sever that arm. Then we win."
"......".
"So, Uncle Kuntel."
He looked at Kuntel with earnest eyes.
"Can you handle three armored dragons?"
"...With all the knights?"
"Yeah. With the Saintess and Divine Archer. And I'll draw the circuits myself. Just draw the attention of those three armored dragons."
The success rate was low.
Even drawing attention, many knights would die. Kuntel couldn't guarantee his own life.
Stake your life and be the bait.
That's what Raniel was saying.
"Jeez."
Kuntel smiled bitterly, gripping his sword hilt.
"You're asking the impossible."
"Sorry. You're the only one I can ask."
He knew it was unreasonable.
Raniel bowed his head. Kuntel sighed, looking at the disciple who had once learned martial arts from him.
"Still, better than everyone dying."
Then he grinned.
"Better to die stylishly like that than getting torn apart by beast hordes."
Sword transcendent Kuntel gripped his sword and stepped out of the tent. Sensing his own end. Author's Note Sorry the side story is dragging on ㅠㅠ. I got carried away with too much I wanted to show... stop. There's a scene I really want to share, so please wait just until tomorrow...! I think I'll do consecutive updates tomorrow! *From Monday, we'll switch back to the main story.