Chapter 283: Signal (11)
Chapter 283: Signal (11)
Translation: Godtl
Frondier did not answer Belphegor's question.
Soon, Belphegor let out a sigh.
"Well, your answer has no meaning at this point."
Snap!
He lightly flicked his fingers.
Grrrrr...
His eerie mana instantly spread through the surroundings, and soon the winds around them began to change.
"The fact that you challenged me means you already knew, didn't you?"
Along with Belphegor's voice, something began approaching them from all directions.
They were spirits. Countless lives that had perished in the past.
And they weren't just humans. The souls of all kinds of monsters also moved toward Belphegor.
The land of Manggot is teeming with countless deaths.
And all death becomes Belphegor's blood and nourishment.
Belphegor's mana swells again as he devours souls.
"No matter how many schemes you devise to block all of Manggot's attacks,"
Belphegor's eyes opened coldly and gloomily.
"If you can't stop me, it's all meaningless."
The ground split open as something crawled up.
Corpses. They crawled up from the ground in their dead forms, swelling their numbers.
And it wasn't just humans. The carcasses of all kinds of monsters also writhed as if given life again, crawling out of the ground. Instead of cries, they let out eerie screams.
Their numbers had already surpassed the scale of an army.
The power wielded by a single Belphegor could form an entire legion and shake the very earth.
"Frondier, unlike you who have already exhausted your mana, the gap between us in the context of 'war' is this brutally one-sided."
The army of corpses did not head toward Frondier. They all moved in one direction.
There were no formations—they advanced at the fastest speed they could manage. There were no limits to their stamina, as everything was driven forward by the power of mana.
Their destination was the Empire. The footsteps of these corpses didn't even make proper sounds.
The countless horde dragged along like half-melted scrap metal.
"Look at them. Bodies without souls are like puppets dangling from strings."
Belphegor, despite having created them, looked at the army of corpses with distaste.
"The citizens of the Empire are no different. Puppets being manipulated without knowing the truth."
"......Nonsense."
Frondier muttered quietly.
Belphegor's lips twisted as he looked at Frondier.
"Talking back to me is pointless. If the lives of those Empire scum are so precious to you, why don't you go and stop that army yourself? Can you? You who don't even have a speck of mana left."
"......Why are you doing this?"
"Oh? 'This'?"
"If you can command an army like that, why have you kept me alive until now? You could have killed me long ago."
At Frondier's words, Belphegor blinked for a moment, then smirked.
"Don't you have something to witness?"
"......"
"How pitiful your struggles were, how meaningless it was for a mere human to challenge a Devil of the Seven Deadly Sins."
The army of corpses moved forward, leaving the two behind. Frondier, in his exhausted state, couldn't stop them.
Belphegor looked into Frondier's eyes and brought both hands forward.
"Frondier. I'm just waiting to get bored."
Belphegor's gaze held amusement, as if waiting for it to cool on its own was truly delightful.
To the north. To the northern barrier.
To the north—to the northern barrier.
For Aster, who had been in Tyburn, heading to the northern barrier effectively meant racing westward. Since Tyburn was located in the northeast of the Empire, the path led that way.
Aster borrowed a horse and galloped off. No one tried to stop him. In fact, the soldiers seemed regretful that they couldn't provide him with a better steed.
"Faster, just a little faster...!"
The flow of the sky had been strange for a while now. Aster could sense the stench of death wafting from somewhere far away.
Though the northern barrier was said to be a short distance from Tyburn, that was only from the Empire's broader perspective. For Aster, the journey there was agonizingly long.
Frondier was fighting a Devil—a perilous situation where every second counted. Moreover, Aster still didn't know what awaited at the northern barrier. He was simply trusting Merlin and heading there.
"Ugh, the horse I rode when chasing monsters in Constelle was so much better!"
Aster recalled the time he had ridden the famed steed, Cassian, cutting down monsters. But longing for Cassian now, which Selena was likely riding, was pointless.
But then—
"...?"
In the distance, someone was galloping toward him on horseback. It didn't seem like they were heading for Aster—rather, they were simply charging in the opposite direction.
As they drew closer, Aster saw two people riding a single horse.
Closer still, and he realized the rider was a woman.
When they were within arm's reach—
"Huh?!"
"Huh?!"
The rider's face was familiar to Aster.
"Selena!"
"Mr. Aster!"
Selena, his classmate—who had disappeared days before the war. Seeing her, Aster felt both joy and confusion.
"How are you here? And who's the kid behind you?"
From behind Selena, Mei peeked out.
"I live with Frondier."
"Ah... huh?"
Aster tilted his head. Now that he listened, she did resemble Frondier.
And yet, she also looked like someone else...?
"'Live together'—at the Roah estate?"
"No, the dorm."
"Huh?"
"Planned."
Though the exchange was excessively brief, Aster roughly understood. He turned back to Selena.
"Selena, where have you been all this time? How are you here?"
"W-well, Lord Frondier had entrusted me with something before, and I had to take care of it urgently..."
Selena scrambled for an excuse.
She had learned one rule while staying by Frondier's side:
When a quick lie was needed, invoking Frondier's name somehow made it convincing—for better or worse.
"...That guy, seriously."
Aster smirked helplessly.
As expected. Selena suppressed her expression and clenched her fist. This rule had a flawless track record so far.
"So where are you headed now?"
"W-well, I don't know."
"Huh?"
"Cassian seemed to be heading somewhere, so I left it to him."
Only then did Aster notice the horse Selena was riding.
It was unmistakably Cassian—the very same famed steed Aster had once ridden to cut down monsters.
After carrying Selena and Mei, Cassian had kept running as if he had a destination.
And upon meeting Aster, Cassian naturally stopped. At first, it seemed like it was because Selena and Aster had reacted to each other, but—
"Did you come to meet me?"
When Aster asked, Cassian glanced at him, then at Selena.
Watching this, Selena spoke.
"...I think he wanted us to meet."
This had been Frondier's instruction to Cassian.
Once Selena reached the northern barrier, he was to carry her and head toward Tyburn to meet Aster.
However, Frondier hadn't anticipated that Merlin would give advice to Aster as well. Naturally, Aster headed west while Selena went east.
And now they had met.
"......Then was Merlin's advice meant for you to meet me?"
Aster looked at Selena.
Aster didn't know what abilities Selena possessed. Of course, that included 'Shadow Shift.'
"......I have to meet everyone."
"!"
Yet Aster spoke. About what he needed right now, what he had to do.
"Frondier is in danger right now. But I can't do it alone. Can you help me?"
At Aster's sincere words, Selena's lips parted slightly before closing again.
It wasn't impossible.
If they used Selena's Shadow Shift.
But transporting someone else along with her placed a severe burden on Selena. When she returned to Yeranhes, just one leap left her body battered and broken.
Yet if Frondier was truly in danger, as Aster said...
'But recklessly attempting it would be too rash. I'd collapse before even meeting everyone else.'
After a moment of thought, Selena's gaze landed on May.
"......Right."
Though Selena didn't yet fully understand May's true nature, she knew that May could also perform Shadow Shift.
The two now shared nearly the same shadow. They could synchronize their destination.
Selena took May's hand.
"We can do it together."
"Huh?"
"You can Shadow Shift, right?"
"Ah, that thing earlier? I can, but..."
Selena nodded in response.
'The difficulty comes from forcibly opening a gate meant for one person.'
As Selena held May's hand, their shadows naturally intertwined.
"If there are two of us, we might be able to maintain the passage. If we can sustain it, we won't need to widen it."
"......Have you ever tried this before?"
A natural question from May.
To which Selena gave the natural answer:
"No."
She shook her head.
"But we have to do it now. May, please help me."
"I'm just following along."
"That's enough."
May nodded at Selena's words.
Watching this, Aster opened his mouth.
"Hey, what does that mea—"
Thud—
Before Aster could finish, Selena placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Let's go."
Before Aster could utter another word—
Two horses and three people.
Vanished abruptly from the spot.
Shadow Shift was originally meant to be used individually.
There had never been a concept of arriving at the same place together. There was no reason to.
Yet Selena had already attempted transporting multiple people once before and knew exactly why it was dangerous.
A shadow is granted to one person, in a quantity meant for one.
Using it as a passage for more than one person was reckless from the start.
But with two people, while one performed the shift, the other could keep the passage open.
Even if the shifting passage didn't close, not everyone could complete the shift at once.
"......Did it work?"
At the tail end of the Shadow Shift, May poked her head out to check the situation.
"......Yes."
They had succeeded.
This was the location of one of the Shepherds—Cohen.
Selena could sense the state of those connected through shadows.
Cohen was dead, and connections to the shadows of the deceased naturally severed once the residual mana left in the body completely dissipated.
But not yet, so they were able to emerge atop Cohen's shadow.
Thus, naturally—
"Huh? Wha—? Aster! Selena!"
Sybil, who had been steadying herself, spotted them.
"Whoa! How did you get all the way he— Owwie, hey, it's so good to see you all!"
Sybil rose to greet them.
Though she winced slightly—likely from lingering battle injuries—her cheerful voice momentarily made them forget this was a battlefield.
"Sybil!"
Aster shouted the moment he saw her.
"Let's gather everyone!"
"......!"
Aster didn't know how Selena and Mei had reached this point.
But he didn't ask for details.
The mere fact that they'd arrived was enough.
He had to keep moving. Before concerning himself with trivial matters, he had to make choices and walk ahead of everyone else.
Though Aster himself remained unaware, this very trait was his true talent.
"Let's gather everyone and head to Frondier!"
"......Yeah!"
As if no further words were needed, Sybil nodded vigorously.
Selena and Mei's teleportation continued bringing more people—one by one, those who had succeeded in defending the Barrier battle joined them.
Eventually, even Elodie and Aten arrived, completing their preparations.
Yet one problem remained.
"......Hagley."
Selena's eyes narrowed.
"He severed my shadow link."
For Selena to return to Manggot now, she could only travel through Hagley's shadow.
But Hagley had cut that connection. With his paralyzed body—incapable of even using magic. An astonishing display of willpower.
"Then what do we do?"
"Let's ride there directly! No time to hesitate!"
"Those who can fly, take to the skies! Once the vanguard arrives, Selena's teleportation will work!"
"I could carry a few people if needed."
Each member proposed solutions, all moving toward decisive action—when suddenly.
"Wait."
As if he'd been waiting for them all to gather.
A building door opened, revealing someone they all knew.
"That approach would be far too slow."
Everyone gaped at his appearance.
"Ch-Chief Director!"
Someone shouted, and Osprey smirked.
Aten muttered in shock.
"During deployment, we heard you were inside the Imperial Palace constructing magic circles..."
"Indeed. We couldn't risk Manggot agents infiltrating unnoticed."
Osprey's role was to monitor the Empire's massive magic circle network from within.
So until the war ended, everyone assumed he couldn't move.
"But now, that's unnecessary."
"Unnecessary, sir?"
"All Shepherds of Manggot have revealed themselves."
Several gasped in realization.
Ever since Manggot and Constelle's instructors clashed head-on, every Shepherd had been marked.
"The moment all Manggot Shepherds were observed, I was to disengage from the magic circles and move. This was planned from the beginning."
The group marveled at Osprey's revelation.
Yet some harbored slightly different thoughts—
Including Aster Evans, who decided to ask Osprey directly.
"Who devised that strategy, sir?"
Osprey studied Aster briefly before smiling wryly.
"Frondier de Roah, of course. My dearest comrade."
"......!"
This was what Frondier had truly been waiting for.
Stalling against Belphegor, allowing arrows like Selena and Mei to be launched, waiting for Manggot and Constelle to collide—
All to enable Zodiac Osprey's movement.
"You'd understand if you'd seen earlier."
Osprey gestured to the door he'd opened.
"I can traverse vast distances through doors. A form of spatial magic—though the doors must be pre-linked."
"O-ohh...!"
The group cheered in amazement.
Selena, blinking in momentary confusion, spoke up.
"Um, apologies, but... there are no doors at Manggot's entrance."
Osprey remained unperturbed.
"No need to worry about that."
His serene smile instilled trust and reassurance precisely when needed.
"Because 'doors' were also prepared by Frondier."