The Monster King (1)
The Monster King (1)
Thud.
The sound came from the direction we'd come from—the direction we now had to return to.
Thud.
The sound was gradually drawing closer. It was loud enough now for the others to hear it, too.
"Do you hear something?"
As expected, the Princess was the first to notice.
Thud.
Then the others heard the sound, too.
Thud.
Crunch.
The faint sound of trees snapping could be heard as well.
Thud.
Everyone stared tensely in the direction of the sound.
Cold sweat trickled down the back of my neck.
It wasn't just the sound. A strange mana swept through the surroundings.
It was a terrifying energy, unlike anything I had ever felt before.
For the first time in a very long while, my body froze stiff.
I forced my mana to rise.
Snap.
My stiffened body loosened. It felt as if the ropes binding me were snapping.
Thud.
I opened my mouth.
"Everyone, prepare for battle."
Judging by how quickly it was approaching, running away was impossible.
If we scattered in all directions, some of us might survive, but without me, the others would have a hard time evading the monsters and making it back safely anyway.
Our opponent seemed impossible to stand against, but I couldn't just give up.
Everyone gripped their weapons, their faces tense.
The Princess, however, stared in the direction of the sound, her face pale.
I placed a hand on the Princess's stiff back and channeled my mana into her.
I felt her body relax.
"...Hah. Hah."
A moment later, the Princess stirred, gasping for breath.
It seemed that not only her body had frozen.
Indeed, since she could perceive mana better than the others, the shock she felt was bound to be greater.
Even I had barely managed to break free, so it would have been difficult for the Princess to do so on her own.
"...We cannot win against this... We must run away."
The Princess spoke between gasps.
"Just because we can't win doesn't mean we should simply run. Blindly fleeing won't improve our chances of survival, either."
Even in battle, the greatest casualties occur when people flee in a broken formation.
To ensure as many people as possible survived, even a retreat had to be orderly.
It was an odd thing to say when we couldn't escape and had to fight, but it was enough to snap the terrified Princess back to her senses.
"Ah... Yes. You're right. I need to pull myself together..."
Princess Aisha bit her lip, but her face remained pale.
I took a sword out of my backpack and handed it to the Princess.
It was the relic divine sword I had found in the blacksmith's shop of the Pisen Marquisate.
The sword had the ability to ignore defenses, and it was the very one that had guided us all the way here.
"This is a gift. During our visit to the Pisen Marquisate, I received a gift on your behalf, Your Highness, and on the Grand Archduchess's. I had intended to give you a separate present. The Grand Archduchess has already received hers."
It was an incredibly expensive sword, but there was no better gift for the Princess.
For me, having obtained the Holy Knight's Divine Sword, it was an unnecessary relic—but it was exactly what she needed right now.
The Princess's own sword was excellent, too, but it was no match for this sword, with the capabilities of a weapon known as a divine sword.
Turning my gaze from the Princess, who was looking back and forth between me and the sword, I surveyed our surroundings.
The two knights had already taken their positions, preparing to face the enemy.
I had noticed it before, but regardless of their skill, they were excellent knights—knights who always fulfilled their responsibilities.
Before I knew it, Balea had climbed atop the ruins of the site.
She closed her eyes and spread both hands. Her mana began to envelop the surroundings.
Her domain gradually expanded.
The Grand Archduchess was checking the relics in her possession, while Katrin held her shield and sword and stared ahead.
I, too, gave my equipment one last check.
My ring was secure, and my necklace was fine as well.
I pulled the greatsword out of my backpack, drove it into the ground, and secured the dagger at my waist.
Finally, I gripped the Holy Knight's Divine Sword.
To face the approaching monster, I had to use my best weapon.
I hadn't expected to use the Divine Sword so soon, but there was no helping it.
As I gripped the Divine Sword and took a deep breath, the Grand Archduchess's voice drifted over from beside me.
"Aren't you scared?"
I turned my head and saw the Grand Archduchess's pale face.
I had thought she was holding up well for someone who had never experienced combat, but it seemed this situation was too much for her.
She was probably looking for comfort in my calm demeanor.
I simply said the first thing that came to mind.
"Of course I am. Though it's for a slightly different reason, I'm scared, too."
I didn't fear death, but the pain that came with it was not easy to endure.
The isolation from others and the way time kept repeating were terrifying, too.
I could understand the Holy Knight's loneliness and pain.
Dying multiple times didn't make me indifferent to it. It only made it slightly more bearable.
Rumble.
Crunch, crunch.
The ground shook, and trees toppled.
It had finally arrived right in front of us.
Everyone stared tensely at the spot where the trees were falling.
Giant trees crashed helplessly to the ground.
Just a moment ago, I'd wondered if we should escape to a heavily wooded area, but that had been a pointless concern.
This wasn't an opponent that something like trees could stop.
Crack.
The sound of someone swallowing hard echoed from somewhere, and—
Growl.
The monster finally appeared between the trees.
"Oh my god..."
Knight Axel let out a despairing gasp.
The others' faces turned stark white, too.
That was how shocking its appearance was.
Its entrails dangled, blood dripped from its body, its skin hung loose like a tent, and its muscles oozed beneath it.
The massive monster looked like a Zombie Giant that had escaped from an operating room and rolled around in a sewer a few times.
On top of that, it wore a worn-out helmet, which only made it look more grotesque.
Its appearance was shocking, but the sheer pressure radiating from its colossal frame was even more terrifying.
"Is it finally a giant monster movie now...?"
Maybe because it was my first time seeing such a massive monster, even I was momentarily dazed.
But I quickly snapped out of it and shouted.
"Pull yourselves together!"
I was shouting at the others, but also at myself.
Seeing it up close made the situation feel even more hopeless. Mana boiled in every direction.
An absurd amount of mana surged from its tattered body.
I hadn't expected us to win, but at this rate, even surviving seemed difficult.
Even so, I steeled my resolve once more.
Even if not everyone could make it out alive, I couldn't give up.
I had made a promise to myself: to always do my best.
I couldn't stop. I had to save even one more person and find the monster's weakness.
For those who would be left behind, and for the next regression.
Still, it wasn't as if I had no regrets.
'Damn it, I shouldn't have agreed.'
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have saved my 'Automatic Save Point' when we arrived at the Demon King's Seal Grounds.
"W-we will create an opening. Please watch for a chance to escape."
Knight Miro shouted in a trembling voice.
Even if someone couldn't perceive mana, it was impossible not to feel the murderous intent radiating from that monster.
Knight Miro's words didn't take their own strength into account, but they weren't wrong, either.
Rumble.
The monster began to emerge from the forest.
Having gathered their courage, the two knights started forward.
Watching from behind, they looked like ants charging at a giant rat, but I probably wouldn't look any different.
Before charging forward, I glanced discreetly at Balea.
It was a signal for her to take the opportunity to escape with the two princesses.
But Balea pouted and looked away.
She had no intention of listening to me.
Her sudden refusal threw me off, but I couldn't afford to pay any more attention to her now.
I threw myself toward the approaching monster.
Each step brought the monster rapidly closer.
Knight Axel and Knight Miro were running toward it, but the monster's massive strides rapidly closed the distance.
Staring at the monster filling his vision, Knight Axel blurted out what was on his mind.
"Knight Miro! We're going to die here, aren't we?"
If Knight Miro hadn't been running alongside him, Axel might have collapsed on the spot.
That was how terrifying it was.
"P-pull yourself together! Even the young students are trying to fight! We must get the Princess back safely!"
Knight Miro scolded Axel for saying that, though his own voice trembled, too.
Despite his trembling voice, Knight Miro's pace didn't slow.
It seemed he had already prepared himself for death.
Axel ground his jaw at Knight Miro's words.
He channeled mana into his sword and leaped off the ground.
"Haaah!"
But human legs were far too short.
The two of them couldn't even reach the monster's feet.
Before they could get close, a massive fist with bulging tendons came crashing down toward them.
Whoosh.
Startled, they looked up—only to find a fist covered in blood and pus filling their entire field of vision instead of the sky.
The massive fist was packed with mana.
Not only was it colossal in size, but the mana within it was beyond imagination.
It was a level of mana an ordinary knight seemed utterly incapable of piercing.
"Die!!!"
Even though he heard Senior Knight Miro roar beside him, Axel couldn't swing his sword.
He knew his own mana could never pierce that barrier.
'I wish I had been a noble...'
Even most nobles wouldn't be able to pierce that mana barrier, but as Axel watched the approaching fist, that was all he could think.
Just as he was leaving his final regret behind—
Boom!
The monster's fist exploded right before his eyes.
Axel rolled across the ground, swept away by the shockwave that surged with the shower of flesh and deafening explosion.
Startled, he raised his head and saw someone flying through the air—no, being blown backward.
It was Alex, the male student holding a glowing sword.
"I will take the front! Knights, please keep it distracted!"
As I was blown backward, I checked the sword in my hand.
Its light had yet to fade. The Divine Sword was perfectly fine.
It had pierced through such a thick layer of mana and shattered the interior—as expected of a divine sword.
For the first time, I truly felt the power of 'defense ignore': it pierced the monster's mana barrier and struck its interior.
Thanks to that, I had saved the knights, and a glimmer of hope emerged: we might actually win.
But the amount of mana it consumed was no joke.
If I wanted to pierce the mana barrier of such a terrifying monster, there was no avoiding it. But if I kept using it like this, my mana would run out in no time.
Thud.
After flying quite a distance, I finally managed to plant my feet on the ground.
The monster stopped and stared at its shattered hand.
The rest of the group was staring at me, too.
Everyone looked shocked.
But there was no time to be surprised.
"Now is the time! Attack!"
At my words, the group snapped out of it and began their assault.
Flames flew, and invisible sword aura sank into the monster's body.
And then the trees began to move.