Chapter 175: Front Line(3)
Chapter 175: Front Line(3)
Ghouls rampaged through the dense forest.
The sight of them running, chunks of rotting flesh dangling from their bodies, was utterly repulsive.
But their appearance wasn't the problem right now.
Ghouls are inherently mindless monsters. Yet these things were moving strategically, as if they possessed reason.
They would drag out the fight, running as far as they could even on the verge of death. Spreading out to avoid being grouped together was their basic tactic.
And all the while, they were steadily advancing toward the border fortress.
"Is someone controlling them from behind the scenes?"
Well, I guess it doesn't matter.
We can move strategically now, too.
I could survey the entire forest with tracking magic and command the party via telepathy.
To use a chess analogy, they only had pawns, while we had knights, rooks, bishops, and a queen. We had far more pieces to play with.
I gave the party their instructions via telepathy.
[Lina. Do you think you could stop that giant ghoul?]
[Yes, I can. It'll take time to kill it because of how tough it is, but just tying it down will be simple.]
[Then please hold that big one in place, Lina. The rest of us will handle the others.]
[Okay!]
I felt Lina dash off through the waves of mana as soon as she replied.
A moment later, the ghoul so massive you had to crane your neck just to see its face roared and dropped to one knee. That’s Lina for you.
But from experience, I knew a beast that size wouldn't go down so easily.
It would probably just keep regenerating.
No problem. She said she could handle it as long as we gathered them all in one place.
[Princess Arwen. What's the maximum number of spirits you can summon?]
[Uhm… It depends on how strong you need them to be!]
[Just strong enough to drive the ghouls away will be fine.]
[In that case… I can summon up to fifty! But if I summon too many at once, I'll be completely drained…]
[Even if you're drained, the rest of the party is here, so it's fine. We'll base our main operations around your summons, Arwen. The rest of you, please follow my instructions to make sure no ghouls slip past.]
[Yes, my husband. I'll give it my all, even if I have to sacrifice myself!]
No, you don't have to go that far.
[Hehe. It's so reassuring to have you here, Kerry. It truly is a beautiful thing to be together. I hope we can all become truly one, as soon as possible.]
Become truly one? What the hell is she talking about? I have no idea what Victoria is on about.
Arwen, too, was fired up, vowing to do her best.
Everything went smoothly after that.
The ghouls were busy trying to flee the moment they saw us.
But I had already anticipated that, having the party form a perimeter and methodically cornering the ghouls one by one.
This was a far cry from before, when we were just blindly chasing and killing them.
If they ran, we didn't bother pursuing. The goal was to make them run, after all.
We're working together better than I expected. I guess the time we've spent together wasn't for nothing.
The encirclement around the ghouls grew tighter and tighter.
It was bound to end this way from the start.
The forces we had at our disposal were a hero’s party, incomparable to mere ghouls.
It was, in a word, an easy victory.
The situation was over. The fleeing ghouls were now clustered around the giant one, like cornered rats.
"Grrrr—"
"Kyaaak—"
The ghouls made threatening noises, but they were no different from mice before a cat.
Lina, who had been holding back the giant ghoul by herself, smiled as she saw the rest of us.
'Everyone's so motivated now that Kerry is here.'
Of course, it wasn't that the party slacked off when they were with Lina, but it was also true that it couldn't compare to when they were with me.
"As expected of you, Kerry."
"It was nothing. It's all thanks to the party's hard work."
"My husband, did I do well? I ran around so hard!"
"Um, Kerry. I worked hard, too. Later… praise…"
For some reason, it felt like Arwen had joined Natasha's camp.
Natasha seemed to have sensed it, too. She wore a flustered expression at Arwen's sudden challenge.
Just as a strange tension began to form between Natasha and Arwen, the giant ghoul let out a roar.
Then, it began to devour the smaller ghouls at its feet. Wow. I can't believe that stuff is going down its throat.
The ghouls being eaten didn't even try to run; they just stood there motionlessly.
So there's definitely someone controlling them.
Since it couldn't win with numbers, it seemed to be combining into one to fight with quality instead.
I don't know who's controlling it, but they're a shady bastard, hiding in the shadows.
"Lina."
"It's all right, Kerry."
Lina gripped her Spirit Sword tightly.
In that instant, the surface of the sword began to shimmer and burn with a golden light.
I couldn't help but nod at the sight of that surging golden aura.
"Everyone, get behind Lina."
At my words, the party ran over. Even as they moved, none of them could take their eyes off Lina's Spirit Sword.
The weapon exuded that much of an overwhelming presence.
The Saintess, who was particularly sensitive to divine power, was especially shocked, muttering to herself.
"How can it possess that much divine power…."
It was a special ability that only the master of the Spirit Sword could use.
The Awakening of Divine Power.
I didn't know the details myself.
For some reason, even when I examined the Spirit Sword's details with the Goddess's Eye, nothing about the Awakening of Divine Power showed up.
While Lina held the golden, blazing Spirit Sword, the giant ghoul that had begun its cannibalistic feast continued to swell in size.
Its already massive body grew even larger.
The giant ghoul's shadow blotted out the sky. The surroundings grew dark, literally like a solar eclipse.
Now, I had to crane my neck so far back it hurt just to see the creature's hideous face.
In a flash, it finished devouring the horde of ghouls.
Its veins and muscles bulging, the giant ghoul roared.
KWWAAAAAAAH!
The very air trembled from its cry. Fuck, my eardrums hurt.
The giant ghoul roared again, raising its hand high as if to smash Lina's party to pieces.
The creature was so enormous that the thought of dodging its descending fist didn't even cross my mind.
"My husband!"
Natasha rushed to my side, poised to grab me and flee at full speed if things went south.
But my expression remained calm.
Because I could see Lina's reliable back as she held the blazing, golden Spirit Sword.
Lina slowly raised the sword.
The terrifying sound of a giant fist crushing the air grew louder, but Lina's blade didn't waver in the slightest.
She simply watched it with a straight, unwavering gaze.
I could see the Spirit Sword held high.
For a split second, I thought the golden, blazing sword had vanished.
But that wasn't it.
It was just that a single slash had descended toward the ground, too fast to be seen.
Lina's Spirit Sword shot out a brilliant, beautiful golden light.
It was a light so intense that it instantly engulfed the shadow that was large enough to blot out the sky.
Everyone in the party shielded their eyes.
The dazzling golden light gradually faded.
When the brilliant glow had completely disappeared, the giant ghoul that had blocked our path was nowhere to be seen.
Only countless flurries of golden light descended from the sky.
"Lina… what is this?"
"It's over. Don't worry."
I was a little dazed.
Other than the motes of light falling like snow from the sky, the only thing that had changed was that the giant ghoul had been erased.
As if sensing the party's bewilderment, Lina explained.
"It's hard to explain in detail, but the power I used through the Spirit Sword is special. It can distinguish between friend and foe. With this power, there's no need for needless destruction or sacrifice."
So, she meant she could eliminate just the giant ghoul without having to destroy the forest.
A power befitting a hero.
"You really are a hero, Lina."
"No. It's all thanks to you, Kerry. If it weren't for you, the situation to even use this would never have arisen."
As if to prove her sincerity, Lina looked at me with that intense gaze of hers. Please don't do that.
Lina slid the Spirit Sword into its sheath. A sharp shing echoed around us.
I watched her quietly.
Lina was beautiful.
With the flurries of golden light drifting down gently, the sight of Lina in her silver light armor sheathing her sword was like a scene from a painting.
I was staring, slightly mesmerized by her beauty, when our eyes met.
In the past, she would have awkwardly looked away.
But for some reason, Lina looked right at me and smiled brightly. It was a smile that couldn't help but make my heart flutter.
She's been smiling a lot more since I entered her inner world. Have we gotten closer?
I remembered Lina's unguarded self that I met in her inner world. I hoped we could become that close.
Someone was watching the subtle smiles being exchanged between Lina and me.
It was Natasha.
The alarm on Natasha's 'Rival-Detection Sensor' began to blare violently.
"My husband!"
Natasha ran over and wedged herself between me and Lina.
"You can't!"
"What can't I do, Natasha?"
"Anyway, you just can't!"
"…"
Lina watched Natasha and me clinging together affectionately with an envious look, but she soon shook her head and turned away.
Just then, as if to make things more chaotic, Arwen approached.
"Kerry, I worked hard!"
Arwen looked at me, flapping her ears. It was obvious what she wanted.
She wanted me to pat her ears. But I couldn't do that in front of the whole party.
Still, Arwen's eyes were sparkling with eager anticipation.
This is a problem…
But I didn't have to do anything.
Natasha's rival-detection sensor activated, blocking Arwen's path.
"This won't do! My husband is mine. For the time being, no one is to come near him."
"Wh-where is that written!"
The strange atmosphere between me and Lina must have been the critical hit.
Natasha had become extremely sensitive.
But what really bothered me was Victoria, who was smiling slyly amidst all this chaos.
Why does Victoria keep making that scheming, sinister face?
Anyway, it's always chaotic when we're all together.
As everyone chattered loudly, high on the adrenaline from the end of the battle, the red sunset faded and the sky began to darken.
Are we sleeping outdoors again tonight?
I was used to camping, but I still preferred a roof over my head.
Just as I was starting to prepare for camp with a bitter expression, I heard the presence of people in the forest.
They were bold footsteps, making no attempt to hide their presence.
Soldiers in armor emerged, pushing through the undergrowth. They were probably Astrian soldiers.
The party's subsided tension began to rise again.
Then, one of the soldiers looked at Lina and spoke.
"…Are you, by any chance, the hero?"
"…"
Lina's expression turned slightly troubled, as if she'd just realized her mistake. It seemed the soldiers had been watching the entire battle.
But there was no reason for it to be a problem if they found out she was the hero now.
After all, Lina was Astria's hero.
Just then, the soldiers dropped their weapons with a clatter.
They even knelt on one knee in a solemn display.
Their next words made me understand why Lina had looked a little troubled.
It was something I could have never imagined.